


Stealing a Thief's Heart

by Takara_Phoenix



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Gods, Alternate Universe - Thieves, Anal, Bondage, Bottom!Percy, Double Anal Penetration, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Multi, Oral, Polyamory, Sex Toys, Shounen-ai, Slash, Spanking, Threesome - M/M/M, Tyson and Ella are Percy's siblings, cop!Jason, rich!Nico, switch!Jason, switch!Nico, thief!Percy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2014-07-25
Packaged: 2018-02-09 17:12:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 45,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1991073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Takara_Phoenix/pseuds/Takara_Phoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico and Jason are in a happy relationship. Well, moderately happy since both of them have someone else they pine after. <br/>Nico, wealthy CEO of a music records label, had fallen in love with the waiter at his local diner, the friendly and kind boy named Percy.<br/>Jason, police detective and head of a special task force dedicated to catching the thief known as the Black Siren, had made the mistake of falling in love with his target.<br/>And Percy, day-time waiter and night-time thief, well, he had a lot of trouble on top of his feelings for a police detective and a CEO.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Introducing the Players

Title: Stealing a Thief's Heart – And Keeping It

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; complete AU

Disclaimer : All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, threesome, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, bondage, spanking, doubling, toys, all-human AU, shoujo-ai, hetero

Main Pairing: LittleBigThreesome

Side Pairings: Ethan/Percy (past, now one-sided), Luke/Percy (past, now one-sided), Thalia/Bianca, Frank/Hazel, Chris/Clarisse, Leo/Reyna, Lou/Miranda, Grover/Juniper, Malcolm/Katie, Charles/Silena, Piper/Annabeth, Jake/Will

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Jason Grace, Clarisse la Rue, Frank Zhang, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Octavian Simmons, Hylla Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Kinzie Cohen, Chiron Brunner, Hazel Levesque, Bianca di Angelo, Lou Ellen, Thalia Grace, Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Phoebe Burge, Zoe Nightshade, Calypso, Silena Beauregard, Leo Valdez, Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Will Solace, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Katie Gardner, Miranda Gardner, Malcolm Cage, Luke Castellan, Ethan Nakamura, Drew Tanaka, Juniper Underwood, Grover Underwood, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Tyson, Ella, Mrs. O'Leary

Summary: Detective Jason Grace is trying his best to catch the worldwide wanted jewelry-thief known as the Black Siren. But what if private-life and work collide and love messes with them?

 

**Stealing a Thief's Heart**

_ And Keeping It _

 

_Prologue: Introducing the Players_

 

Nico di Angelo smiled softly and took a sip of his coffee.

His job was annoying and irritating most of the time. Being CEO of the 'Elysium Agency for Young Talents', the biggest agency in Los Angeles, was sometimes making him want to jump down a bridge. Or push some of the people who thought they were talented down a bridge. He spend nearly the whole day in his office, but once he got out, everything seemed to brighten. There was that little café on the other side of the street, called 'Hestia's Hearth'. The coffee tasted horrible, but the waiter was completely making up for that. The boy was stunningly beautiful. The most mesmerizing and unique sea-green eyes, full, rosy lips that looked way too kissable and so stunning when he smiled. And the teen's ass was perfection. He should know, his family owned a big collection of ancient Greek art, including some perfectly sculpted Greek boys. But that boy, he looked like a Greek hero himself. So perfect. And if Nico wouldn't have a perfect boyfriend already, he would have swept that teen off his feet and took him months ago.

“Can I get you something else, Mister di Angelo?”, wanted the boy to know with a soft smile.

“Please don't call me a mister, Percy. That makes me feel old”, smiled Nico. “I told you, my name is Nico. But no, I'm content for now, I'll have to leave soon anyway.”

The boy was nineteen, had graduated high school only a few months ago in New York, the city he had never left before his graduation. But then he had left for the city where dreams came true. Since then he was working as a waiter at the 'Hestia's Hearth'. Sometimes it came in handy to be rich, that made paying a private eye so much easier. Okay, so his boyfriend was probably right that he was a creepy stalker and that Percy would do right to get a restricting order against him, but it wasn't Nico's fault that this boy was so captivating. If Jason would finally take the time to go and drink a coffee with him, then he would see for himself how special Percy Jackson truly was.

 

/break\

 

Percy Jackson grunted irritated and ran down the alley.

His shift had been over for over an hour already when Nico di Angelo had come in, but Percy couldn't, not for the life of him, go without seeing the charming Italian. In a city full of people who thought they were better than anyone else, this man was probably the only one who treated him with respect and was actually nice to him. Most costumers were grumpy and mean, letting their frustrations over their shattered dreams out at him. But the CEO was so friendly, asking him about his day, just conversing with him as if he was an equal human being. Even though Percy wouldn't say that. Because Nico di Angelo was one of the richest people in the states. And certainly one of the hottest. A stupid grin spread over his lips at the thought of the tall and lean Italian with the dark, piercing eyes and the messy hair, that looked as if the CEO just had really good sex with his lover clawing at the hair. Percy liked picturing himself as that. As the lover that got held by the strong arms, the rich voice whispering lovely nonsense in the most romantic language he had ever heard (everything sounded way too puffy in French, Italian was the hotter language for him).

Shaking his head to get those distracting thoughts out of his head, he stripped down, having the clothes of his second work right under the annoying orange uniform. A wicked grin tugged on his lips as he put the last piece on. The blue Venetian mask. Tying it at the back of his head, he jumped up the stairs, the museum finally entering his view. Time to visit his second sweet-heart, the handsome detective by whom he would love to get handcuffed in any other situation. If only not in the situation they found themselves in whenever they met...

 

/break\

 

Detective Jason Grace sighed exhausted and took a look around.

The curator of the museum – his boyfriend's younger half-sister Hazel Zhang – was constantly frowning and pacing the room, her high-heels making a clicking sound on the marble. Her husband was trying to calm her down. But Detective Frank Zhang was having a hard time doing so, since his partner Clarisse la Rue was currently occupying his ear with one of her famous rants about how that stupid little thief was making a fool out of them all and they would certainly catch him this time.

“Jason!”, called his own partner, pulling him out of his thoughts. “He's here.”

“Damn it”, growled the blonde detective and turned to his partner.

Jason scolded at that. The little nuisance that kept him awake at night (and for once he wasn't talking about his horny boyfriend). The thief best known as the 'Black Siren'. Just thinking that name made him furious. Those skin-tight black leather pants, showing that perfectly shaped ass off like that, and the formal black dress-shirt. But the most remarkable thing about Black Siren were his eyes. Never before had he seen such a deep and bright sea-green, framed by an old fashioned Venetian mask, the thing that had become his trademark, with silver and gold emblems and jewels, aquamarines and sapphires, pearls and emeralds, underlining how stunning those eyes were.

“Hello, my dear detective”, purred a seductive voice into his ear.

He stiffened and whirled around, just to stare into those eyes. They were hypnotizing. Gritting his teeth, he tried to reach for the thief, just to find him exactly out of reach. Just as always. The slightest bit out of his reach. But he swore to himself, one day he would capture the Black Siren.

One day the thief would be his.


	2. Playing Cat and Mouse

_1\. Chapter: Playing Cat and Mouse_

 

The blonde detective growled angered as he sprinted through the museum. The last he had seen of the thief was that tightly wrapped ass. The most appreciated sign on a private level, but certainly not considering that he was supposed to be ahead of the bothersome criminal.

“ _Jason?_ ”, called a voice through his walkie-talkie.

“What is it, Avila Ramírez-Arellano?”, growled the blonde irritated at his partner.

“ _Come back. It's no use. Frank and Clarisse just saw him running off south, while Hazel saw him running north. He got us again_ ”, said Reyna, equally annoyed.

Jason came to an abrupt halt. It was useless chasing the Black Siren if the boy just pulled one of his stupid stunts again and made a fool of the police. With a deep, unsatisfied frown on his face, he walked back to the main-entrance. A trembling, nervous Hazel was being held by her husband, while the two police women paced through the hall annoyed.

“Anything?”, asked the blonde, knowing the answer already.

“A letter, as always. It's for you, also as always”, growled Clarisse with a glare.

She presented the letter, packed in an evidence-bag, to him. It was the same, as always. Well, not always, but after the first three heists of the thief, those letters started. The Black Siren would leave them where his prey was supposed to be.

“To my most dedicated detective, as always I appreciated our little game of cat and mouse. Perhaps the next time you wish to be the cat? Don't you worry about the Persephone's Tear, it is in good company with my little collection. I look forward to our next date. xoxo, Black Siren”, read the blonde detective and massaged his temples.

The brunette next to him hurried to take the letter from him since he was short of crumbling the paper. Not that it would bring any evidence for them. The Black Siren was too clever to leave anything behind. Jason sighed aggravated.

“The Persephone's Tear is a family-heirloom”, sobbed the curator desperately. “It belongs to our step-mother! She will throw a fit if she hears that it had been stolen!”

“That is the least of our worries, Hazel”, grunted Reyna and rolled her eyes.

“But why does he steal them to begin with?! This is mockery! It's the tenth time he had broken into my museum and made a fool of me!”, yelped the annoyed curator.

“He is also making a fool of us”, muttered Jason darkly and turned.

“Where do you think you're going?!”, called Reyna irritated.

“We still have paper-work!”, growled Clarisse. “You're not ditching us!”

“Relax! I'm only going to call Nico”, grunted the blonde and rolled his eyes, fishing his cellphone out of his pocket before leaving the building.

 

/break\

 

“Nico! Nico, your cellphone!”, called a beautiful Italian woman loudly.

She tried to be louder than the music, but then again that seemed impossible. Unable to spot the CEO anywhere, she took the phone and answered the call.

“ _Nico? Bad news_ ”, growled the annoyed voice of Detective Jason Grace.

“Not Nico, Jason”, smiled the woman amused.

“ _What? Oh! Bianca. What are you doing on Neeks' phone?_ ”

“We're at the concert of the Huntresses”, answered Bianca. “Don't know where he is. So, what's the bad news? I'll give him a message.”

“ _The Black Siren got away again..._ ”

“With our step-mother's tiara?!”, gasped the Italian wide-eyed. “No!”

“ _Yes_ ”, growled the detective obviously annoyed. “ _I wanted to inform you guys first. Before you read it in the news. Your sister is... devastated._ ”

“Oh, the poor dear”, sighed Bianca and shook her head. “I'll go and check on her tomorrow.”

“ _Yeah, do that. And tell Nico I love him, okay? See you. And congrats to your girlfriend, yeah?_ ”

“I'll make sure to deliver the messages”, smiled the oldest di Angelo softly. “Bye.”

The concert was nearly over, which made Bianca frown a bit. Where did her brother disappear to? She turned to scan the crowd of people behind the stage. All busy, running around. No Italian in a well-fitted suit with a confident smirk. A punk-girl caught her eyes and she smiled.

“Lou! Have you seen my brother?”, asked Bianca loudly.

“No, Miss di Angelo, he seemed to have disappeared”, answered the private secretary.

“Damn that boy”, muttered the female CEO irritated.

“Not a boy anymore, sis”, grinned a voice into her ear.

She yelped and whirled around, just to stare into dark eyes.

“Don't do that”, hissed Bianca irritated.

“Sorry”, laughed the male Italian amused. “You're so jumpy sometimes. What's the matter, sis? Why are you looking for me?”

“Your boyfriend called. That darn thief stole the Persephone's Tear”, sighed Bianca.

Nico grunted and frowned, before he dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

“That doesn't matter now”, muttered the male CEO. “We will take care of that tomorrow. This evening is about the girls. And I, for my part, don't want their wrath for not being happy and attentive to them.”

“Neither would I”, chuckled his sister amused.

“Nonetheless, Lou”, said Nico and locked eyes with his assistant. “Send flowers to our step-mother. Your girlfriend has that flower shop, right?”

“Yes”, nodded the punk-girl and made a note. “Demeter's Garden. What kind of flowers?”

“All of them”, answered the di Angelo siblings.

“What do you mean by that?”, asked the assistant and blinked.

“We mean all of them. All the flowers they have in the shop”, grunted Bianca. “You obviously never met our step-mother. Flowers will be the only thing that will sooth her. And believe me, you do not wish to face her wrath.”

“I'm feeling bad for dad”, snickered Nico slightly amused.

“You can be such a brat, Nico”, chuckled his sister and rolled her eyes.

“I'll take care of it in the morning”, nodded the punk-girl determined and took off.

“So, brother dearest”, drawled Bianca with a nearly wicked grin on her lips. “How is it going with the little waiter you fancy so much?”

“What do you mean?”, grunted Nico defensively and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I've just been wondering... How is persuading your boyfriend going?”

“Not as good as I'd wish for”, groaned the Italian man annoyed. “Jay even refuses to take the time to at least take a fucking look at him!”

“Understandable so. If your sister would suggest for me to take a closer look at some random chick she fancied, I'd throw a fit”, announced another voice.

The di Angelo siblings turn around to face the six sweaty young women. One of them was a native-American, with the sticks of her drums in her waistband, one arm loosely laid around the blonde keyboarder's shoulders. Another was black-haired and had each arm wrapped around another girl, one of them with caramel-colored hair, the other was a brunette with a bass. The one who had spoken was black-haired, with blue streaks in them, as sky-blue as her eyes. She had her guitar leaned against her legs as she leaned in to wrap her arms around Bianca and kiss the Italian softly.

“Hey, Thals”, smiled the female CEO. “Congrats from your brother, by the way.”

Nico chuckled amused. He would be eternally grateful to the girls. Back when the Huntresses of Artemis had first signed contract with the Elysium Agency, Bianca had nearly instantly fallen in love with the guitarist, Thalia Grace. And once the two started being serious, they were having a big family get together. That was how Nico had met his own boyfriend, Thalia's younger brother Jason. And thanks to Jason, their younger sister Hazel had met her husband Frank. But being the overly protective older brother he was, the CEO was always a bit mean to Frank, even though the detective was a decent and nice guy.

“You were great, Annie”, grinned Nico and hugged his favorite Huntress.

“Thanks, Neeks”, grinned the blonde back. “But we're always great.”

“And what about us?”, grunted the black-haired, tall woman mischievously.

“You too, Zoe”, laughed the male CEO amused. “And your sister. And... Oh, come on, you all were great, girls.”

The black-haired woman and the caramel-haired one hugged Nico tightly. The two Nightshade sisters were probably the ones the Italian liked most, right after Annabeth. Calypso was a bit shy, but once she opened her mouth to sing, she captured the whole hall. And her older sister was kind of the leader of the band, the oldest and probably the most level-headed one. Nico glanced at the brunette who stood behind the Nightshade sisters and glared at him. Phoebe always made him uneasy with her irrational hatred towards men.

“Where is Silena?”, asked Bianca as she looked around.

“You know her”, grunted the native-American and rolled her eyes. “She ran off to her Charlie as soon as we left the state. Had spotted him and his engineering lot in the crowd.”

The male Italian snickered slightly. While Thalia and Bianca had hit it off right away and Jason and Nico had started their relationship with loud screaming and fighting (they had edged on from scratch one, which had in the end resulted in angry, hot sex), the fourth Huntress had shyly fallen in love with a guy named Charles Beckendorf. Not any guy, mind you. Jason Grace was like his sister, he was only available in a package. And while Thalia had her little band, the 'Huntresses of Artemis', the blonde had his best-friend-with-brother-status Leo Valdez and with him the whole of 'Hephaestus' Engine', Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason and Nyssa Black. The way Jason had told it to Nico, Charles and Silena had been dancing around each other since they were teens and all of them had still been at high school. Sometimes it made the Italian envious. That they had known each other so long, the Grace siblings, the tinkerers and the band.

“Are we going to meet the tinkerers and Silena later?”, wanted Nico to know.

“Sure”, shrugged Zoe. “I guess. After-show party and all.”

“Yeah! After-show party!”, screamed Thalia at the top of her lunges. “Let's get going!”

“Yes, I'll just... I'll catch up to you”, nodded the male Italian as the women ran off.

Rolling his eyes at the females, he turned around to look for his assistant. The punk-girl was soon spotted and he waved at her.

“Yes, Mister di Angelo?”, asked Lou softly, raising one eyebrow. “I just wanted to head off.”

“About the flowers for my step-mother... Don't send all the flowers to her.”

“Not? Why not?”, wanted the assistant to know, blinking confused at that.

“Thirteen white roses to the café 'Hestia's Hearth' with a card.”

Lou scribbled some notes into her little black book and nodded.

“What's the card supposed to say?”, wanted the punk-girl to know.

“Nothing”, smirked the CEO enigmatic. “Just a blue heart on it.”

“No name? Nothing?”, asked Lou confused.

“And 'To Perseus', that's enough”, grinned Nico. “Have a nice rest, Lou.”

“You too, Mister di Angelo”, said Lou. “A dozen roses to Perseus and all others to the step-boss.”

 

/break\

 

“All our flowers? Is your boss nuts?!”, grunted an irritated brunette wide-eyed.

“No, not all your flowers, love”, sighed Lou and shook her head.

The brunette crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared. Another woman, looking like an older version of her, came up behind them and laughed softly.

“This is a big deal, why are you frowning, Miranda?”

“Katie!”, exclaimed the younger sister. “All our flowers! What about our other customers? The nice old people who get a bouquet before going to the graveyard! What are we supposed to say if we don't have any flowers? We're a flower store!”

“Well, then we are a flower store who's closed for today”, shrugged Katie. “Hello, Lou.”

“Hello, Katie”, waved the punk-girl and waved at her kind-of-sister-in-law.

“How is your job as assistant at that fancy agency?”, asked Katie curiously.

“It's good. The di Angelos are awesome”, grinned Lou broadly.

“Are you guys ignoring me? I can't believe you!”, grunted Miranda with a pout. “Malcolm! Your wife is ignoring me!”

She whirled around in the beautiful flower store to face the door to the back rooms. A blonde man emerged the private rooms and rose one eyebrow at her.

“Whenever your sister is my wife, it's something bad”, commented the man. “What did you do, Katie? Oh, hello, Lou!”

“Hi, Malcolm”, greeted the punk-girl. “My bosses send me to send all available flowers to their step-mother's in San Francisco. And my girlfriend seems to have a problem with that.”

“One day off seems good”, grinned Katie and locked eyes with her husband.

Malcolm smirked at that and nodded. He had just brought some orchids from the back rooms and placed them on one of the shelves. All of their flowers? That deal would be good.

“And like I said, not all of the flowers are supposed to get to the di Angelo estate”, grunted Lou and rolled her eyes. “One dozen of white roses for a café called 'Hestia's Hearth'.”

Malcolm nodded absentmindedly, in his head already planning how to deliver all their flowers to San Francisco. Though the bosses of Miranda's girlfriend were very good costumers. Since the female CEO was with a guitarist, they often bought dozens of flowers for the whole band. The doorbell chimed and caught their attention. Malcolm lifted his hand in a way of greeting as their fellow co-worker entered. A frown passed his face as he took the man's appearance in.

“You had a hard night, Grover?”, asked the blonde man curiously.

“Yes”, grunted the other and shook himself. “You could say that.”

“But you didn't have a fight with Juniper, did you?!”, exclaimed Katie wide-eyed.

“What? No”, blinked the brunette man confused. “Nothing like that. Just... a bad night.”

“Then you wouldn't mind visiting your wife at work, would you?”, chuckled Malcolm as Grover started shedding his jacket.

“No... Why?”, asked the brunette and ran his fingers through his goaty, keeping his jacket on.

“Delivery for the 'Hestia's Hearth'. For whom did you say, Lou?”

The blonde turned to the punk-girl, his stormy-gray eyes boring into hers in question.

“I'm actually not so sure either”, shrugged Lou. “To Perseus. That's what's supposed to be on the card. That and a blue heart. But I have no idea if this Perseus is working there or eating there...”

“Working”, interrupted Grover curiously. “Perce is my best man. From whom are those flowers?”

“Oh! No!”, yelped the punk-girl. “If you're this guy's best friend, then I can't tell you from whom they are. That's not the way secret-admirer-gifts work!”

Katie was busy collecting the twelve most beautiful white roses she could find. She knew Percy too, after all. A small smile grazed her lips. A secret admirer! That was so exciting! And the fact that she would get the rest of the day all alone with her husband. How much she loved her sister's girlfriend's bosses sometimes. Taking a blue pen, she wrote the card in elegant letters and tied a blue ribbon around the roses before giving them over to the brunette male.

“Secret admirer? That never ends well”, frowned the bearded man.

 

/break\

 

“Why would someone send me white roses, Grover?”, asked Percy confused.

He stared from the flowers up at his best friend's face and back to the roses. They were beautiful. Perfect white roses. A slight blush dusted his cheeks at the thought that someone would spend the money to send such wonderful flowers to him.

“Listen, Perce”, hissed Grover and leaned in to whisper into the waiter's ear. “I don't like this! They didn't want to tell me from who the flowers were. I don't trust this!”

“What? You think they're poisoned?”, chuckled Percy amused. “Relax, Grover.”

“How am I supposed to relax?”, groaned the brunette annoyed. “I'm sore all over the place because la Rue chased me for half an hour last night, just because you were so close of getting caught! You take your game of cat and mouse too lightly! This is not fun! If he catches you, this means we're all doomed, damn it! Take this whole crap more serious, Perce! This is our life you're playing with!”

“Grover, love!”, interrupted a soft voice. “What are you doing here?”

The two males parted, Grover throwing a last warning glare at the boy before hugging his wife.

“Hello, Juniper”, smiled the brunette. “Had a delivery.”

“A delivery? Oh! Percy, they are beautiful! Who send them?”, wanted the waitress to know.

“Someone who intends to play cat and mouse with me”, grinned her colleague excited.

“You mean to say _someone else_ ”, grinned the auburn-haired woman and winked. “As if you don't have enough cats chasing your tale, Percy.”

“You mean to say I chase too many mice at once”, corrected the boy with a wink.

“Underwood! Jackson! Get your asses back to work!”, screamed an annoyed voice.

“Oh how much I love Drew”, muttered Percy with a disgusted face.

The Asian girl stood behind the counter, glaring at them. Juniper sighed and kissed her husband good-bye. The florist waved his best friend and wife off and left the little café, colliding with someone on his way out. He blinked a few times and look up at the man in the Italian suit.

“Sorry, mate”, grunted the brunette.

“Not a problem, sir”, smiled the man in the suit politely.

Grover raised an eyebrow at the man and left. The Italian passed a few tables and steered to his regular table. He covered his eyes with his hands as he sat down and groaned.

“Good morning, Mister di Angelo”, smiled a soft, angelic voice.

Even though his head felt like it wanted to implode, he still lifted his head and smiled up at the waiter, noticing the bouquet of white flowers in Percy's arms. It looked a bit like the boy didn't quite know what to do with those flowers.

“Good morning, Percy”, smiled Nico back. “Beautiful flowers you got there.”

“Oh, yeah”, blushed the waiter awkwardly.

“Your girlfriend?”, asked the Italian innocently.

“I don't know who send them”, answered Percy, effectively avoiding the question about a partner.

“But you like them?”, wanted Nico curiously to know. “I mean, you _are_ blushing.”

“Who doesn't like a little affection?”, chuckled the black-haired boy.

“Seriously, if you don't get to work soon, I'll have your ass, Jackson!”, growled the Asian.

Percy twitched and glared out the window, before replying in his most friendly voice.

“Of course, Miss Tanaka.”

“Sorry for getting you into trouble. A coffee. Strong. Very strong.”

“Coming, Mister di Angelo”, smiled Percy. “And _you_ are never trouble.”

The boy went to the kitchen where he first put the roses into a beer mug full of water. He yawned widely and stretched. Grover was right. Last night had been a close call. Detective Grace was getting better and better at chasing him. Or he was getting sloppy in running away. But those determined, sky-blue eyes were hard to withstand. Percy bit his lower lips as he got lost in his phantasies again. He knew exactly how the handsome detective could put his handcuffs to good use. Oh, Grover was so right. He shouldn't get attached to the one trying to capture him.

“If you keep biting your lip like that, it will split”, noted Juniper.

The auburn-haired woman raised an eyebrow at him questioningly, loading a breakfast serving onto her tray. Percy nodded and took another tray, blinking a few times to clear his head.

“Sorry, I'm a bit beside myself...”

“Hard night? Grover looked very exhausted when he came home too. Are you alright?”

“You know you're not supposed to ask that”, chided her colleague with a small smile.

They tried to keep her out of it. But at times, it was hard. Why did Grover have to fall in love with Percy's co-worker? Getting others involved always made it more dangerous. For all of them. Then again, if he would have been sober enough he would have had the opportunity to interrupt the wedding too. But that's what you get when your best friends decide to invite you to Las Vegas for your nineteenth birthday. Fake ID inclusive. Now Grover and Juniper were married and they had to explain everything to her. Though, for her credit, she did take it better than anyone of them would have expected. And she really was helpful. If not during the heists itself, at least in the private life.

“Thanks for taking care of the kids last night”, whispered the waiter.

“Not a problem”, smiled Juniper and shook her head. “You know how much I adore Tyson and Ella. They are little angels. Angels with their heads full of hazardous mischief, but angels nonetheless.”

“Truer words had scarcely been spoken”, laughed Percy softly as they left the kitchen.

He headed over to Mister di Angelo's table, adding a little extra sway to his steps. Grover was so extremely right. He needed to cut some of his games down. But then again, how could he? He deserved a bit happiness of his own and from his two chosen ones, the CEO was probably the one Grover would approve of more than of the detective. Why had the handsome and charming guys always have to be out of reach?

“Your coffee, Mister di Angelo”, smiled Percy.

“How often do I have to tell you to call me Nico?”, chuckled the Italian amused.

That crooked smile was the hottest thing the waiter had ever seen. It always made his knees go all jelly. All Nico had to do was smile at him like that, with his dark, oratorical eyes and that one raised corner of his mouth and Percy would gladly jump onto the table and spread his legs. Damn it.

“At least one more time, Mister di Angelo”, grinned the waiter with a wink.

“You should stop re-watching _Pirates of the Caribbean_ ”, smirked Nico. “And I doubt I would look good in a corset.”

“Very well, if you don't want, _I_ can pull it off pretty good”, winked Percy and left again. “Call me if you want anything else, Mister di Angelo.”

The Italian stared after him and gulped hard. He knew exactly what he wanted from the gorgeous boy. And the image Percy had just planted into his head was not helping him any. Nico frowned and shook his head. Which turned out to be a bad move. He hissed in pain and grabbed his head, just as his cellphone vibrated in his pocket. Taking a sip from his coffee, he fished it out.

“BBQ @ Beckendorf. ♥ J”, read the CEO out loud and frowned.

Barbeque with the tinkerers? With that hangover? This was going to be torture. Then again, Charles and Silena were famous for their Barbeque. But first, he had to live through calling his step-mother.


	3. Playing Poker

_2\. Chapter: Playing Poker_

 

Nico moaned, the backside of his head hitting the wall as he threw it back.

“Ouch”, hissed the Italian irritated. “Why are we in the closet? I thought we were past that.”

“Hilarious pun, love”, smirked the blonde, his warm breath tickling Nico's neck.

The CEO moaned hoarsely, his nails scratching his boyfriend's back.

“Shut up and hurry before they miss us”, growled the business man irritated.

The police man chuckled lowly and jerked harder, the arms around his neck tightened as his boyfriend's orgasm approached. A growled moan escaped Nico's lips as he went limb in his lover's embrace. Jason smirked satisfied and pulled his now sticky hand out of the expansive pants.

“What was that, Grace?”, hissed the Italian flustered.

“Payback for last thanksgiving when you made me all hard while your stepmother was talking about flowers during dinner”, snickered the blonde and kissed his boyfriend.

“Asshole... What if Silena would have caught us?”, murmured Nico against his lover's lips.

“She did”, grunted a voice from behind them.

The CEO's eyes widened and he blushed while the blue-eyed man only smirked and licked his fingers. The woman in the doorway did not look very impressed. She had one elegantly swung, blonde eyebrow raised and her ice-blue eyes fixed them with a glare.

“Just for the records, if any of my coats got any kind of odd strains on them because of you, I will skin you alive. And on another note, dinner is ready.”

“Look, Silena, I'm sorry”, tried the Italian with a dark glare towards his lover.

“No, you're not”, chuckled the blonde woman amused. “You two are like school boys. Horny. And you can't stay off each other for longer than half an hour. It's okay, but not in my closet. We have a guestroom with a bed and condoms in the nightstand, please use that next time, yes?”

“Yes”, nodded the flustered CEO.

Nico cursed beneath his breath. Normally he wasn't that easy to fluster, but somehow the old high school friends of his boyfriend always made him act like a little boy again. Perhaps because they were the closest thing Jason had to a family, next to his sister. And this made Charles and Silena, as the oldest and the most responsible in the group, the parents. So a handjob in the in-laws' closet was kind of unsettling. Especially when 'mom' caught you.

“And you, young man, go and wash your hands! With those fingers you are not going to touch anything in this house!”, warned Silena with a playful smile.

“Yes, ma'am”, grinned the cop and saluted.

He gave his love a short peck on the cheeks before disappearing in the direction of the bathroom. Nico grunted a bit irritated and followed the blonde hostess out into the garden. The sun was blinding, but a soft breeze ruffled their hair, making it a pleasant day. Closing his eyes, the CEO inhaled deeply, savoring the smell of barbeque. Never before had he ever eaten anything like Charles Beckendorf's barbeque. Blinking a few times, he tried to adjust to the bright sunlight and took a look around in the beautiful garden. The flowers were colorful and in full bloom – most from the flower store where Lou's girlfriend was working. Between two high, broad trees was a hammock. Nico's sister and her girlfriend/his boyfriend's sister were sitting on it, watching four of their friends play tennis. Since this was a gathering of both, the friends of Jason and the friends of Thalia (which had after all been how the host and the hostess had met), it was pretty crowded in the little back garden. At first when Nico had met them all, it had been hard for the Italian, but by now the faces belonged to those he considered his own family too.

Piper McLean and Annabeth Chase were teaming up against a bulky, black-haired man and a blonde guy with bright blue eyes. The taller male was Jake Mason from the garage where Beckendorf was working and the blonde was Doctor Will Solace, Jake's boyfriend. The host was busy at the barbeque grill, with the help of his co-worker Leo Valdez. The long wooden table was being set by the two Nightshade sisters Calypso and Zoe, together with the grumpy looking Phoebe Burge. Nyssa Black, the only female worker from the 'Hephaestus Engines', pushed past Silena and Nico with a bowl of salad in her hands, grumbling something about discrimination because she as a girl had to bring the salad. The Italian man chuckled amused at that. That was a thing the four mechanics loved to do. Nyssa played the 'You only make me do this because I'm a woman!'-card, Charles shoved everything someone tried to make him do onto the 'You only make me do this because I'm black!'-card, Leo used his 'You only make me do this because I'm Latino!'-card and Jake blamed everything on the 'You only make me do this because I'm gay!'-card. Whenever they did that at work, they earned some hilariously shocked looks from customers.

“Love, did you find them?”, asked Charles loudly, turning to them.

“Yes, they were... busy”, chuckled his girlfriend with a wicked smirk.

“There you are, Neeks!”, grinned Leo broadly and waved at him.

“How often did I tell you to not call me this, Valdez”, hissed the Italian irritated.

“Where is Jason?”, asked the Latino, ignoring the complain. “I have to whine and pout!”

“He had to... wash his hands”, replied Silena with a snicker, kissing Beckendorf.

“Oh, not again!”, groaned Thalia as she stood up from the hammock. “Can't you two idiots keep your minds out of the gutter for one lunch?!”

“How in the world did you conclude that, sis?”, grinned a voice from behind Nico.

Two strong arms sneaked around his waist and a chin was rested on his shoulder.

“There you are, Jay-man!”, grunted Leo with a pout. “I have a bone to pick with you.”

“Oh no you don't”, objected the blonde cop and hid behind his lover. “It's fair and square. Reyna is doing the paperwork after this heist since I did after the last.”

“But a family barbeque without my girlfriend ain't complete”, whined the Latino.

“He is _so_ annoying”, groaned Nyssa irritated and wrapped her arms around her co-worker.

“And you all love me for it”, grinned Leo and stuck his tongue out.

“We sure do”, chorused all his friends.

“Anyway”, announced the blonde and clapped her hands. “Go, sit down, children. Food is ready.”

Everyone obeyed and took their places, Charles and Silena at the head of the table. On Silena's side of the table sat Will, Phoebe, Zoe, Annabeth, Thalia and Jason. Opposite of them sat Jake, Leo, Nyssa, Calypso, Piper, Bianca and Nico. Though since Reyna, who normally sat opposite her boyfriend, everyone on Silena's side of the table sat a bit farther apart to fill the space.

As always their main topic was the Black Siren. Perhaps because Jason was downright obsessed with the thief, or perhaps because the Black Siren was the most popular citizen of Los Angeles. Kind of ironic, as far as Nico was concerned. A city full of celebrities and stars and the one without a real name or a face was the most prominent one of them all. And his wonderful, easily annoyed lover had to go and fall for that irritating thief. But who was he to complain about his boyfriend's choice of obsession since he had his own little obsession? Oh, and what a tempting obsession he had. A pleased grin spread over his lips at the thought of Percy Jackson.

“Stop thinking about that waiter”, hissed Jason opposite him.

“Why? You keep talking about 'that thief'”, grunted Nico and rolled his eyes.

“Thank every deity listening that you two love each other”, commented Thalia with one raised eyebrow. “But I still don't understand that, not for the life of me...”

“Nico is my boyfriend”, snorted the cop irritated. “And I love him. My obsession with the Black Siren is purely... Ah, who am I kidding? I want to bend him over. But I won't do that.”

“Same for me and my waiter”, hummed the CEO. “We're both faithful to each other. But fancying someone is not like that... I mean, what? You fancy Naya Rivera too.”

“That's something else!”, yelped Thalia and blushed. “She's a celebrity I'll most likely never meet. While you drop by at that café like every day to see that waiter of yours.”

“Whatever”, grunted the Italian and took a sip of his German beer.

The upside of being friends with Beckendorf was the good beer. That and the lederhosen and dirndl he had brought from his last visit home. Though since neither Nico nor Jason were willing to wear the dirndl, it was up to the CEO's hopes to one day see Percy in it. He licked his lips at that thought.

 

/break\

 

“How was barbeque?”

“Is that jealousy I detect there, Reyna?”, grinned Jason as he entered the police station.

His partner threw a dark glare at him and snatched the coffee away from him. The smell of fresh coffee lured the rest of the Black Siren task-force in too. Clarisse licked her lips and took one of the cups, while Frank took another one. Two other female detectives pushed between them to get their coffees, one was Reyna's older sister Hylla, the other was her partner Kinzie Cohen. The Avila Ramírez-Arellano sisters followed a family tradition by becoming detectives and once the task-force was formed, it was out of question for both of if they would join.

“So, boss, how was dinner?”, grunted Kinzie and raised one eyebrow.

“Delicious. I brought left-overs”, replied the blonde, gesturing to the plastic bag on his table.

“Yey!”, grinned Frank happily and licked his lips.

“Not so fast! First some work”, chided his partner.

The brunette female took the plastic bag and stowed it in the mini-fridge, far away from the Canadian. Frank pouted a bit, but found himself soon distracted his other three female co-workers since they pulled him and Jason along to the examination rooms. They came to stand in front of the one-way-window. The leader of their task-force and his partner exchanged a glare before they entered the room and zoomed in on the man at the table. He had short black hair and looked a bit unsettled at being there at all.

“Rodriguez”, grunted Reyna with a dark glare.

“Yes?”, asked the man pretending to be bored. “What am I doing here?”

“You don't have an alibi for last night”, stated Jason and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Why should I?”, snorted Rodriguez and leaned back some. “It was a weekday. I came home from my honest work and rested, just like any good citizen.”

“Oh, come on”, groaned Jason irritated and hit the tabletop with his fists. “We know you know something about the Black Siren, Chris!”

“Look”, grunted Chris unimpressed and raised one eyebrow. “I'm your damn police informer, don't you think I would have told you if I knew something about the biggest thief around?”

The blonde detective opposite of him growled deep in his throat, his eyes sharpened.

“Okay, that's enough!”, announced Clarisse and stormed into the room.

She glared at her colleagues until they reluctantly left the room, though Reyna stopped shortly.

“Don't cuddle him because he's your husband”, warned the black-haired woman.

“Shut up, Avila Ramírez-Arellano”, hissed the brunette.

The door closed behind the two partners and Clarisse turned over to her husband.

“Chris”, whispered the police woman tired and slumped down opposite of him.

“Yes, love?”, asked the former thief curiously.

“Look, this deal with you being our informer kind of implies that you inform us. I'm not stupid. You know something about the Black Siren, you must know. Ten years ago, you've been one of the most famous thieves yourself. You can't tell me you know nothing. And if you don't spill it soon, you'll have problems. The prosecutor is by far not as patient as we are and the least I want is for him to cut this deal, because I don't want to visit you in jail, you moron.”

Oh, she had such a soft and tender way with words. He glared up at her.

“Clarisse, I already told you. Like you just said yourself, I've been a big name ten years ago. He only started half a year ago. How could I possibly know him?”, sighed Chris.

“Oh, not him, you dumbo”, groaned his wife and shook her head. “But you still have contacts and those contacts have contacts and may know him. Go and ask around.”

He had tried to avoid that for many weeks now. But she was right, the prosecutor was not a very patient woman and if he wasn't of help soon, he may find himself behind bars. Not a good idea.

“Alright, fine. I'll ask around. But don't expect them to spill anything for me. You know that they know that I'm married to you. And the husband of a detective is not the first person you tell about your nightly activities”, grunted the black-haired man. “Can I go now?”

She nodded shortly and smiled relieved. They really needed a lead. Soon.

 

/break\

 

Chris had his hands deep in his pockets, staring through the window into the little café. It was called 'Hestia's Hearth', not that he had ever noticed it. It wasn't near their apartment, though in this case that was an appreciated fact. Upon calling his former friends, they had insisted on meeting – because of the 'old times'. Times he often missed. But whenever he came home from his boring office job to find Clarisse, completely exhausted and ranting about her partner, he found the honest life completely worth it. He tried to find the two men he was supposed to meet, but it seemed they hadn't arrived just yet. So he decided to get inside and check the place out. No. No checking anything, just sitting down and waiting for them to arrive. Old habits died hard.

“Hello, sir”, greeted a waiter him.

The boy had impressing green eyes and a very friendly smile. Though Chris could tell that it was fake. As a thief and con-artist, he knew how to read a poker-face. But he froze when he realized that he couldn't read this poker-face. He noticed it was off, that this was not the boy's real attitude and feeling at the moment, but he found himself unable to unravel the deeper layers of the waiter.

“Hello. A table for three? I'm waiting for two friends”, grunted Chris after an awkward silence.

He shouldn't get lost in the moment like this. His eyes caught the name-tag. Percy. Odd name. And young. The kid wasn't out of school for long – if at all. Perhaps he was getting old if he couldn't even read a teenager anymore. Slightly put down by that thought, he followed the waiter to a window table and sat down. The boy gave him a card and smiled broadly.

“If you may wish to order something while you're waiting for your friends.”

“Thank you”, nodded the former thief and watched the boy retreating into the kitchen.

He needed a vacation. That kid was not a threat, so why couldn't he keep his gaze away from the waiter? Perhaps being around cops all the time had made him even more paranoid than he had naturally been. It was a bit of a trade that came with being a criminal, he supposed.

“Retired, but still checking places out when he enters them. Some things never change.”

He blinked surprised and looked up. Two brunette men stood in front of him. They were nearly identical, with their messy, sandy hair and their mischievous eyes. He had never been able to tell them apart, even though he knew them for over fifteen years now. Then again, they did love to mess with the people about who was who, so he wasn't to blame for that.

“Connor, Travis, it's nice to meet you again after all that time”, grinned Chris.

“It sure is”, agreed one of them and sat down opposite of the former thief. “Connor and I just happened to think of you, actually.”

“Really?”, asked the black-haired man curiously and put mental name-tags on the brothers in front of him. “How come? We haven't spoken in a while, after all... Which is your fault.”

“Oh, come on, that's not our fault”, protested Connor with a pout. “You can't expect two thieves to not steal something out of a fancy house like that!”

“The di Angelos were giving that birthday party for me, so yes, I do expect my friends to not steal from them when they are invited”, hissed Chris irritated. “Especially not if half of the police station is invited too! Regardless of what an awesome challenge that may be!”

“Anyway”, coughed Travis and grabbed the ice card. “We came to think of you last night. With the newest Black Siren heist and all. You know, not even in your best time you could have pulled one of those. Whatever, what I mean is, business is getting heavy and retirement sounds good.”

“How so?”, asked the police informer curiously, leaning in some. “Is this Black Siren guy dangerous? Threatening? Or what does he have to do with it?”

“He? Threatening?”, asked Connor and blinked surprised before laughing loudly. “No, man! He's the cutest thing I've seen in a long while. I would love to tap that.”

“You're straight, Connor”, noted Chris and raised one eyebrow.

“See? That just shows how cute that guy is”, noted Travis with a leer.

“So you know him?”, was the informer's next question.

“Have you decided yet?”, interrupted the waiter the little interrogation.

There was that poker-face again, though this smile seemed even more forced and off than the one he had been greeted with. Scrunching his eyebrows in confusion, he only half listened to what the Stoll brothers were ordering. He rather scanned the surroundings to find the reason for the boy's masks.

“And you, sir?”

“What?”, asked Chris and blinked a few times.

“He asked you what you want”, grunted Connor and rolled his eyes. “You're out of it, man.”

“A black coffee”, mumbled the former thief, his eyes glued to a figure in the back.

Someone was sitting on the farthest point of the bar, his face hidden under a black hat, the trench-coat making it impossible to guess anything aside from his height. In the back of his mind, he could hear his wife and how she would press that guy against the next wall and handcuff him for being odd and weird. If only people could get arrested for that.

“As you wish, sir”, smiled the waiter and disappeared again.

“Yes, we know him”, continued Connor their previous conversation.

His brother seemed busy staring after the waiter, a mischievous smile on his lips. Something about this place was more than off. And Chris didn't like it at all.

“But we can't tell you”, added the other Stoll brother. “I mean, you know that. We can't just walk around and reveal the identity of our colleagues to others. It's not like you're one of us anymore.”

“I know that”, sighed the informer and shook his head. “But give me at least something, yes?”

“Okay”, nodded Travis and licked his lips, leaning closer in a conspiratorial way. “If the police would know his story, they wouldn't want to arrest him either. Is that enough to ease your mind?”

“He's one of the good guys”, grunted Connor with a short nod, his eyes sweeping through the room unfocused, sometimes catching their waiter. “Really.”

Percy came to them and brought them their orders. There was an odd gleam in his eyes when he looked at the Stoll brothers and Chris wondered what it may mean.

“I think you would like him if you knew him. Damn, even your wife would like him”, grunted Travis once the waiter was gone again. “Everyone likes him.”

“Perhaps that's part of his magic?”, snickered Connor amused.

That was something that had occurred to Chris too. Most of the heists took place on private property. All the items stolen belonged to rich, wealthy families. And they always seemed so overwhelmed and confused that they got robbed. It had made him wonder if maybe this Black Siren was quite the good manipulator, sneaking into their lives to get what he wanted.

“You tell your wife that they should rather focus on some other thieves and criminals.”

“For example...?”, drawled the black-haired man curiously.

“Oh, come on. The same ones that had been a pain in the ass back in the old times too.”

Chris frowned and took a big sip from his coffee. Perhaps he should do that. He didn't quite understand the mayor's concern with the Black Siren anyway. There were far more dangerous criminals out there. But it most likely had to do with the fact that the Black Siren had made a complete fool out of the mayor and the whole police force at the annual police ball where he had stolen the mayor's wife's necklace from around her neck. And since the missus could be quite... intimidating to say the least, mayor Zeus acted on it right away to satisfy her. Or perhaps he was trying to make it up to her since Hera had caught him cheating... often. A month without a scandal concerning the mayor and some mistress was very rare.

“You know, you should check with them”, advised Connor and put some money onto the table.

“Sorry to keep this short, but a prince from overseas is having some nice diamonds in the bank on the other side of the street, so...”, drawled Travis as he stood up.

“So you're meeting with other friends now?”, chuckled Chris amused. “Don't worry, I know of nothing. Have fun, you two. But don't tease them too much. I always have to suffer.”

“We'll stay off your wife”, grinned the brothers with a wink.

As much as that black-clad man and that strange waiter were picking his interest, they were also setting him on edge. So he emptied his coffee and laid the money on the table before leaving.

“What are you doing here?”, asked a man in an Armani suit as Chris opened the door to leave.

“It's a café. Three guesses, di Angelo”, grunted the former thief and rolled his eyes. “I drank coffee with some friends. I hope you guys left enough from the barbeque so I'll get leftovers tonight!”

“We sure did. You know Silena. She always buys enough to feed an army. Greetings to your wife!”

“Greetings to your wife too”, smirked the police informer with a wink. “Or are you the wife?”

Dark brown eyes were rolled at him in annoyance and he left with a happy tune on his lips. Nico scowled after him and entered the café. Once inside, he was greeted by the smell of good coffee and delicious bacon. If someone invented a perfume that smelled like this, he would buy it and bathe in it. Licking his lips in want, he turned to his regular table, just to find the one thing he wanted even more than coffee and bacon standing right in front of it and getting the table cleaned.

“Hello, Percy”, smiled the CEO and sat down, though not without sneaking a glance at the boy's behind. “How was your day so far?”

“Very... annoying...”, muttered the teen, his eyes unwillingly wandering some.

Nico followed the gaze attentively. There was a man sitting at the bar, wearing a black trench-coat and a black head. All in all, he had a very dark and gloomy aura. And his presence made the pretty waiter shiver. Something that was not being tolerated by the Italian.

“A black coffee and scrambled eggs with bacon, but without the eggs?”, smiled Percy.

These covering mood-swings disturbed the CEO immensely. Because they seemed as if a deep rooted sadness was filling the boy, a sadness that only sometimes slipped into his behavior and was otherwise covered by a perfect mask. Something he as a businessman had to wear sometimes, but a boy like the pretty waiter should not possess. Nico nodded shortly and watched how the teen went back to the kitchen. Though on his way there, the black-clad man reached out for him and caught his arm. Percy jumped slightly and glared at the man before wriggling free. The frown on the CEO's face deepened and he turned some, his eyes searching for the auburn-haired waitress. It had come to his attention that Percy and his blonde co-worker were close friends.

“Excuse me, miss”, started Nico, with his most dazzling smile, catching her attention.

“Yes, sir? My colleague is responsible for this table. Should I get him?”

“No. Just one question... Who is that creepy guy at the bar? Not very good for business, I suppose.”

“Some guys just don't get it when you say no”, muttered the waitress with a frown and continued beneath her breath and in a worried voice, as if he was not supposed to hear it. “Poor Percy...”


	4. Playing With Fire

_3\. Chapter: Playing With Fire_

 

“Lo~ove?”

“You only drag that o so if you want something”, accused Jason and raised one eyebrow in irritation. “Spill it, babe. What do you want?”

The blonde looked down at his boyfriend, who had his head rested on the detective's chest, both of them naked and covered in sweat after a steaming night. Nico grinned up at his lover sheepishly and drew symbols on the blonde's six-pack.

“Would you meet me at the Hestia's Hearth for dinner today”, mumbled the Italian.

“Nico”, growled Jason slightly irritated ad sat up some. “We have an agreement. I don't force you to attend any heists and stare at my object of affection, you don't force me to go to that diner and stare at your object of affection, to keep this neutral because we kept fighting about who gets who to fall for their little plaything.”

“This is not about me wanting you to fall for him”, whispered Nico soothingly. “I'm seriously worried about him. When I last saw him, there was this man harassing him. I asked a friend of his about that man and it seems it's a stalkerish ex-boyfriend, who tracked Percy down after what must have been Percy running away from that guy. I want you to check that out in your function as a detective, not as my boyfriend, please?”

“Stalker you say?”, muttered the detective with a frown. “Worse than you?”

“Hush now”, muttered the Italian and blushed slightly. “I'm not a stalker. I'm just a curious guy with the means of getting to know what I want to know.”

“Fine”, groaned Jason irritated and fell back onto the bed. “But only because I can't just ignore something like that as a detective. I will not be charmed by that guy or find him any alluring.”

“We will see about that”, grinned Nico wickedly and kissed his lover. “But thank you.”

“I really should get going”, muttered the blonde and rolled his eyes. “Or else Reyna will kick my ass for being late again. I'll... meet you at that diner around twelve, alright?”

“You're the best boyfriend ever”, grinned the CEO and winked at him.

The detective only rolled his eyes and muttered something about irritatingly irresistible Italians.

 

/break\

 

“Percy? Are you sure I shouldn't accompany you?”

The thief rolled his eyes irritated and put his shirt on. A girl poked her red-haired head into his bedroom to frown at him, worrying her lip.

“Rach, I'm good”, grunted Percy. “Seriously. This is not a big deal. He wouldn't do anything in public, he's not that stupid. And the diner certainly is public.”

“Yeah, but you have to get there. And you also have to get home from the diner again”, frowned the ginger. “He is a thief. And if he steals you, you are in big trouble. You know that.”

“Don't worry so much”, chuckled the waiter and walked up to her, hugging the girl. “I'm fine. Always will be. Can you pick Ty and Ella up from school for me, please?”

“What would you do without me, Perce?”, chuckled Rachel amused and shook her head.

“I know”, grinned Percy and brought some distance between them to grab his jacket.

“No. I'm serious, how did you cope with your life before you met me and Grover?”, asked the ginger concerned. “You never talk about it. You scarcely talk about your life at all.”

“There is not that much to talk about it”, shrugged the boy awkwardly, hastily getting into his shoes.

“Liar, liar, pants on fire”, muttered Rachel. “You somehow earned yourself three stalkers.”

“Two. Nico di Angelo doesn't count. He's not dangerous.”

“Really not?”, grunted the red-head and raised one eyebrow. “He dug into your past and if I wouldn't have provided you with a fake back-ground, he would certainly have gotten suspicious.”

“I know, I know. Anyway, gotta go. See you tonight, Rach.”

The door closed with a bang and the girl shook her head once more. That boy, he was going to be the death of all of them one day. Somehow he managed to attract dangerous people. She bit her lips in guilt. He had read a bit of his file when she had exchanged them. And it was disturbing.

 

/break\

 

“Why do you look like someone killed your pet?”

“Shut up, Valdez. I'm not in the mood”, growled Jason. “Go and suck faces with your girlfriend...”

“What got him so irritated?”, asked the Latino with a frown and turned to the other cops.

Frank was busy eating the doughnuts the mechanic had brought for them, while Hylla and Clarisse were arm wrestling. Reyna looked up at her boyfriend and shrugged.

“I have no idea. He has been so sulky ever since he arrived this morning. Perhaps Thalia and Bianca accidentally surprised them during sex again. Or they surprised the girls again. Who knows?”

“I bet it's because of the Black Siren”, snickered Kinzie, stealing a doughnut from Frank.

“If you noisy people need to know”, growled Jason finally and turned to glare at his friends. “Nico forces me to meet him for lunch today. At the Hestia's Hearth.”

“Isn't that...”, started Leo and blinked surprised.

“The place where Nico's little waiter works, yes”, hissed the blonde and gritted his teeth.

“And why are you going?”, asked Reyna confused and grabbed her purse to walk up to her partner and her boyfriend, ready to leave for the break.

“Because he made it sound urgent”, sighed Jason and rubbed his temples. “It seems that waiter of his has a stalker-problem. Worse than Nico, that is. So he asked me to check on it...”

“You're so cute”, laughed Leo and wrapped one arm around his best friend's shoulder. “How about Rey and I tag along then? I have no idea where we should eat anyway.”

“That's a good idea”, nodded Reyna. “I mean, it may stop you from strangling this waiter.”

“I won't strangle him”, grunted the blonde offended. “And I can handle that on my own.”

“If you say so”, shrugged the Latino skeptically. “Then, where do you want to go, love?”

“I don't care. As long as the food is good. We could drop by at Beckendorf's? As far as I know, Silena had bought too much food again”, grinned the woman.

“She always buys too much food because she always knows that some of us drop by”, nodded Leo eagerly and licked his lips. “Great idea.”

Jason rolled his eyes at them as they parted ways. For the first time, he was heading down the street to that hated diner. For the first time, he would meet the guy called Percy Jackson.

 

/break\

 

“Hello, Mister di Angelo”, purred Percy delighted as he saw his favorite customer coming into the diner. “As always? A black coffee and scrambled eggs with bacon, without the eggs?”

“Actually, no”, chuckled the Italian and shed his coat. “Make it two black coffees and with eggs.”

“But you hate eggs”, noted the teen curiously.

“I do. But my boyfriend loves them”, grinned the CEO.

“Oh... Of course, Mister di Angelo. I'm at it.”

Percy aimed a fake smile at the Italian and turned around to get back to the kitchen. Stupid him. Of course the hot business man would have a girlfriend or a boyfriend. The guy was smoking. But those weren't news he would have needed today. Today sucked enough as it was. When he passed the counter, he glared at the man in the black trench-coat, just to receive a wicked leer. Today sucked. He glared down at the floor and entered the kitchen, praying that his stalker would at least get his act together until Nico left again. He didn't want the Italian to get suspicious.

 

/break\

 

The fresh smell of bacon and coffee filled him and nearly swept him off his feet as he entered the little diner. His eyes didn't take long to find the reason for his being there. The CEO sat alone at a table, talking to a black-haired boy, smiling at the teen. Jason frowned displeased at that, though he decided to wait until the waiter had left the table before he would go to his boyfriend. The teen placed a plate with scrambled eggs in front of the empty place opposite the Italian and another plate full of bacon – Will always threw a fit when he heard of the unhealthy eating habits of Nico – in front of the CEO, accompanied by two cups of black coffee. Then the boy left to get back into the kitchen. That's when Jason's eyes caught on the suspicious figure at the counter. A man dressed in a black trench-coat. The blonde suspected this to be the stalker Nico had been talking about, so he decided to take a closer look at the man. Just as he stepped up to the counter, the man caught the waiter's arm and stopped him from entering the kitchen.

“You've been avoiding me since I entered this establishment. Stop ignoring me, Percy.”

The voice sounded dark and threatening and the teen shivered at it. Jason raised an eyebrow.

“Leave me alone. I told you to go”, hissed the boy back, trying to free himself. “Just leave me alone already. Can't you move on with your life? I told you I'm sorry for what happened!”

“Sorry?”, snorted the man disgusted. “I lost so much because of you, you little, worthless whore. Don't think, not even for a moment, that I'll accept your apology and move on. I will destroy your life, Percy Jackson, I will make you regret ever meeting me.”

“As if I don't already regret that”, grunted the teen back, pulling once more on his arm, tears gathering in his eyes. “I regret what you lost because of me too, okay? But... Stop it, please...”

“I will not stop”, snickered the man, pulling the boy closer. “You will be mine. This time, he stands no chance against me. This time, you'll be mine. If you want it or not.”

The waiter shuddered, staring at the man with fearful eyes. Enough was enough. Jason growled irritated and laid one hand on the man's arm, making him turn to glare at the blonde.

“I believe the boy asked you kindly to let go. You should listen to him”, growled the detective, making sure that the way he held his posture shifted his own coat so the police badge and his gun could be seen. “You should eat someplace else.”

A single, vengeful, dark, green eye stared first at him then at the badge and in the end back at him. The man was frightening, not only because of the eye-patch, but more so because of the madness that shone in the one eye he had. Grunting irritated, the man let go of the waiter and turned to leave.

“This is not the last you've seen of me, Percy”, warned the stranger before he left.

Jason paid him no mind though, his focus laid with the trembling boy. He may not like the fact that his boyfriend was fancying someone else, but that didn't mean he had no heart. Placing one hand on the teen's shoulder, he caught the boy's attention. And froze.

“Thank you”, whispered the waiter, rubbing his eyes.

His stunning, unique sea-green eyes. Unique. Frowning at that, the detective shook his head.

“Not a problem”, grunted the blonde. “Kind of my duty, you know?”

“Can I... get you something? On the house”, smiled the boy softly.

“No, it's alright. My boyfriend already ordered for us”, declined Jason and turned stiffly around.

His eyes were wide as saucers when he sat down opposite Nico, but instead of focusing on the Italian, his eyes trailed back to the waiter. And then the boy turned around. That was it. The eyes were one thing, many people had green eyes, perhaps the sea-green wasn't as unique as he liked to picture it, but if there was one thing he could always tell apart, it were asses. And that was the exact same heart-shaped firmness he kept chasing for months now.

“We have a problem, Nico”, whispered the blonde lowly.

“What? Why?”, asked the CEO confused. “What's going on? You stare at him as if he's Bianca's self-made pizza and you haven't eaten in days. Why are you staring at him like that?”

“It's him”, hissed Jason and leaned in some more. “That's the Black Siren.”

“Now you're being stupid”, chuckled Nico amused. “That's Percy. You know, the 'little waiter' I've been fancying for a while. The Black Siren is your little obsession.”

“What I'm telling you is that they are the same person”, growled the detective irritated.

“What makes you think that?”, grunted the CEO, also leaning in some. “You're crazy.”

“He has the same eyes – and the same ass!”, grunted Jason, making grabbing-motions with his hands. “You know I never forget a nice ass when I see it! And that's his!”

“I still think you're crazy”, muttered Nico and raised one eyebrow, turning to stare at his object of affection. “Percy is not the Black Siren. And if so... What are you going to do?”

“Not like I could do anything”, sighed the blonde and slumped back in his seat, taking a sip of coffee. “I know how crazy it sounds. Just as much as I know that I'm right. And you know that I'm right too. You know my memory when it comes to that kind of stuff.”

“Yeah. Perv”, snorted the Italian, nibbling on his bacon. “So?”

“I can't walk up to Brunner and tell him 'I found the thief we've been searching for months' and he asks 'Really? How so, Grace?' and I answer 'There is that waiter and he got the same ass'. Sadly enough, we don't have a database for asses yet”, muttered the blonde, digging into his eggs. “Aside from... You know... the fact that I never really thought about what I would do if I did catch him.”

“You know that if Percy is the Black Siren, I will not let you turn him in, right?”, grunted the CEO with a frown. “That boy is like pure goodness wrapped into the nicest package ever.”

“You know the other implication that your waiter being my thief makes?”, hummed Jason with a wicked grin and turned to stare at the teen again, licking his lips.

“Perv”, smirked Nico, also licking his lips now. “But I suppose you're right. See, our minds do work the same. We even fall for the same guy. Though that brings me back to the original reason of why you are here today. What's up with Percy's stalker?”

“Ah”, nodded the detective, he had nearly forgotten about the creep over the realization that the person haunting his wet dreams was also the person haunting his boyfriend's wet dreams. “He's dangerous. Definitely mad. And he threatened Percy earlier. We should investigate that.”

“You just want to know more about him”, accused the CEO with a grin.

“Would you like more coffee?”, both of them jumped at the sound of Percy's voice, who now blinked at them confused. “Eh... sorry for startling you...”

“Not a problem”, smiled the Italian hastily. “We just didn't hear you there. But no, thanks.”

“Though I would like to have a word with you”, hummed Jason with a frown.

“Excuse me?”, asked the teen confused and tilted his heads.

“This... man, my boyfriend told me he seems to bother you on a regular base. I am a detective and I would like to discuss this further with you, just to ensure that he won't be a threat to you”, he paused for a second, contemplating that he was talking to a wanted thief. “How about we meet up after your shift to talk in private? I mean, if you prefer it, I could also drop by more often to ensure that he will stay away. I have some friends at the police station that would certainly enjoy the coffee here. That way you would be safe too.”

The waiter stiffened remarkably at the mention of the task force and Jason felt himself confirmed in his suspicions, leaning back some to wait for the answer. The teen looked reluctant.

“Fine”, sighed Percy after a while. “We can meet once my shift is over. Around six.”

“Excellent! It's a date then. Do you know the Bacchus? It's an Italian restaurant. We'll meet you there”, smirked the blonde. “It's a public place, so I doubt your stalker will suspect that you're talking to the police. It's safer that way.”

A blush graced the boy's cheek at the word date, but he nodded nonetheless.

 

/break\

 

“And you're sure you'll be fine?”, hissed Grover from the driver seat. “It's Grace we're talking about. No one had yet been as determined to catch you as him. What if you slip? What if he makes a connection? Or worse, what if he's already after you? Perhaps that's the reason he was at the diner to begin with. You really need to watch your words, Percy. What are you going to tell them anyway?”

“The truth”, shrugged the teen slightly bored. “What good would lying be? He's a detective. He has the means to get the truth anyway. And if I lie and he checks it and finds out that I lied, it will only be more suspicious. You're as bad as Rachel. I'll be fine. Thanks for driving me.”

“Be safe, Percy”, whispered Juniper next to her husband worried.

He grinned at her and waved as he got out of the car. He waited until they were out of sight before he turned to the fancy restaurant. A frown marred his face. This night would not only be worse than any interrogation, it would also cost him the rent for two months. As he entered the establishment, he corrected himself. Three months. And only if he stayed with water and a small salad. Never in his life before had he seen such a fancy, pompous restaurant from the inside. As a kid, he had lingered in front of those sometimes, staring through the big windows and dreaming of a better life where his mom... Shaking his head and hardening his eyes he tried to suppress those depressing thoughts. He needed to keep his pokerface and chose his words wisely tonight.

“How can I help you?”, asked the pretentious man at the reception.

How much he hated those pricks. Looking down on him because he wasn't rich or famous. How much he hated this city sometimes. Still, he smiled his most confident smile.

“I'm supposed to meet with Mister di Angelo here.”

The man stared down at him in disgust and disbelief. As if it was not possible that a man as popular and wealthy as Nico di Angelo would ever meet someone like Percy in such a place for a date. Well, it wasn't, but that was beside the point and none of that jerk's business. His heart ached a little at the thought of today's revelations. The two men he had set his eyes on were taken. In fact, they were a couple. It figured, they were after all the hottest things Los Angeles had to offer. So why shouldn't the two most amazing guys settle for each other? Not that he had ever thought he would stand a chance with either of them. They were both way out of his league. But one could dream.

“I highly doubt that”, muttered the man with a dark glare. “You should not go around and spread lies like those, boy. It'll only get you into trouble.”

Percy gritted his teeth. Fair enough. That way he could ditch this evening of watching the men he loved being in love with each other while spilling his life story without even having to take the blame. He just turned around to leave again as a hand caught his arm.

“Percy”, smiled the Italian softly at him. “What took you so long?”

“Well... Someone refused to let me in”, muttered the teen and glared at the receptionist.

The man suddenly paled remarkably and bowed deeply. “E—Excuse me, Mister di Angelo, sir, it was a misunderstanding, sir.”

“I'm sure it was”, growled Nico dangerously. “What else could it have been?”

“Nico, stop killing the man with looks. You can talk with his boss after dinner”, interrupted the blonde behind the CEO, causing the man to pale even more. “Come now.”

Percy gulped hard as he looked at the couple. They looked breathtaking in their black tuxedos. Jason was wearing a yellow dress-shirt while Nico was wearing a red one, the upper three buttons open, revealing some of his olive-skinned and very tempting chest. The teen licked his lips and felt even more under-dressed now. But his wardrobe didn't offer fancy. In fact, it only offered five different shirts and two jeans. Blushing in embarrassment was all he could do as he was led through the room full of beautiful people. The jewels around their necks alone would be enough for him to live a peaceful life. Not counting the expensive clothes. Most faces were more than well known – singers, actors, politicians. The who is who of Los Angeles. And he was steered to a table in the middle of all of this, with everyone glaring at him suspiciously as if they could smell that he didn't belong with them. They probably could since he only smelled of cheap strawberry shampoo and not of designer perfume that cost more than his rent. Once they reached the table, Nico pulled a chair back for Percy to sit down. The boy's blush deepened some. Always the gentleman. A waiter came up to them and offered them the menus once the two men sat down opposite the teen. Percy tried to focus on the food, but the prizes were distracting. Perhaps that small salad he had thought about earlier was thinking too generous. Biting his lips, he thought if it would be impolite to only order a glass of water and nothing else? But at that moment his stomach had to betray him and growl. Glaring down at the traitorous bodypart he cursed the fact that he hadn't eaten today. What good was working at a diner if the boss was such a bitch that she didn't even allow them free meals?

“What? Italian not your thing?”, asked Jason slightly amused at his lost look.

“No! I love Italians—Italian food, I mean”, stuttered the teen and blushed even harder.

The two were setting him on edge. He was good with his pokerface. Normally. But he was hungry and he hadn't slept well since Ethan's return into his life and he was at the moment faced with the two most handsome men he had ever met.

“Well then”, grunted Nico curiously. “What is it, Percy?”

“This is not really my price class, Mister di Angelo”, confessed Percy awkwardly. “You know, I'm more of the... McDonald's or Subway kind of guy if I find the spare money to go out for food.”

“How often did I tell you to call me Nico?”, chuckled the CEO amused. “And please, don't worry about the money. We suggested the place, we will pay. Which means... I will pay.”

“I'm only a detective too”, grunted the blonde next to him and rolled his eyes. “The steaks here cost more than my first apartment did.”

“I've been at your first apartment”, muttered the Italian and rolled his eyes. “And it was worth less than McDonald's wants for their food, Jay.”

“Ah, that reminds me”, smiled the detective and turned to the teen. “I didn't introduce myself earlier. I'm Detective Jason Grace. But please, call me Jason. It's a pleasure meeting you, Percy.”

“Likewise... Jason”, smiled Percy softly before turning to the CEO. “And I'm not really comfortable with other people paying for me... Nico.”

“We wanted to go here, we pay. End of discussing”, smirked the Italian, looking way too pleased.

“Why... exactly did you want to meet me anyway?”, asked Percy cautiously.

“First the orders, then the talking”, objected the blonde with one raised hand.

The teen had to sit through a torturous quarter hour of choosing and ordering before his attention was finally brought back to the detective, whose electric blue eyes stared at him intensely.

“Nico had caught on your little stalker problem and asked me to have a look at it”, started the blonde with a professional air around him. “And I must say, I am concerned. So I wanted to know a bit more about this guy. Who is he? What do you know about him? Does he pose a threat?”

“It's a... really long story”, muttered Percy and shrugged slightly.

“We're concerned for your safety, Percy”, urged the leader of the task force. “Tell us so we can help. What happened between you and this man that got him so angry at you?”

“His name is Ethan”, started the teen after a while, staring into the soup that had just been brought to them. “And the rest of the story is very complicated.”

“Percy”, whispered the Italian, laying one hand on top of his, making him blush. “You can trust us.”

Oddly enough, the teen felt as if this was true. Even though Jason Grace was the person that one day would put him behind bars. And that was something he was sure about. The blonde kept getting better and Percy kept slipping. One day, the detective will catch him. But not today. Today, he felt as if he could trust the blonde, as if... he was safe. Which was an odd and foreign feeling to him.

“I was born in New York. I ran way from home when I was sixteen”, started the boy, observing the frown on Nico's face because this didn't cover with the fake story Rachel had provided him with. “And it was hard. I worked at a diner, just like now. And then I met that guy. He was great and we had a great time. It was just... you know... sex. I mean, I was a horny teenager, he was handsome, we did it.” He shrugged slightly and frowned at the odd looks in his companions' eyes. “Anyway, it wasn't something serious. At least not to me. But then he asked me to move in with him...”

“And you declined because it was only a loose relationship to you and he flipped?”, guessed Jason.

“No”, chuckled Percy. “Like I said, it's complicated. The guy I've been with wasn't Ethan. His name was Luke. He was that tall, handsome blonde with the surfer body and the startling blue eyes...” The teen stopped for a second and stared at the tall, handsome blonde with the well-built body and the startling blue eyes opposite him, though then he coughed and focused on his story again. “And when he offered me to move in with him, I needed it. Because some costumer that had tried to get into my pants got me fired at work and I couldn't pay the rent anymore. That was when things started going downhill. Because Luke was living with his best friend, category tall, dark, handsome, with his black hair and dark eyes and that slightly gloomy and intimidating aura...” He interrupted himself to look over at the tall, dark, handsome man with black hair, dark eyes and an intimidatingly gloomy aura, next to the detective. There was a pattern that just now started to unfold before his eyes. “The problem was that they were best friends and working partners and I... Well, I stayed with them and since I needed a job, they let me work with them. At first, Ethan had only tolerated me because I was Luke's kind-of-boyfriend. But with the time we lived and worked together... Well, one thing led to another and one night when we were celebrating a successful business, we kissed. And... more. I blamed it on the alcohol and the fact that Luke had been paying no attention to me, instead spending the night with two other business partners of theirs. But... it kind of repeated itself. And the following times, I've been sober. I don't know, I just... I couldn't decide. When I was with Luke, I really wanted to be with him and couldn't imagine leaving him. But I developed the same feelings for Ethan. It started getting really messed-up when Luke found out though. They fought. I thought they would kick me out and blame me, but instead they blamed each other and fought about me. About who would get me. As if I would have deserved them after what I put them through... Well, anyway, it ended in a complete disaster. Ethan lost an eye and Luke didn't go out of that fight without a scar either. That was when I realized that I'm unhealthy to others. So I ran away... I had destroyed their friendship and their business and their lives... I had done enough damage... The two other business partners of theirs helped me. They took me in for a while, until I could get everything together to start my own life.”

The two men opposite of him stared at him shocked and he had to smile slightly. If they would know the whole truth about that so-called business of Luke and Ethan and how they had gotten him into the criminal world. Without them, he wouldn't be who and what he was now.

“And that's the story of how you got to Los Angeles, eh?”, chuckled Jason baffled.

“No. That's the story of how I got to Chicago”, smirked Percy and stole a carrot from Jason's plate. “The story of how I got to Los Angeles is a different one entirely and you wouldn't believe it.”

“But... Do you think this Ethan is dangerous?”, asked Nico concerned. “And Luke?”

“I doubt it”, shrugged the teen and bit his lips. “I mean... I haven't seen Luke since I left Chicago. And Ethan... He won't be a threat as long as he doesn't see me with a potential lover. And that won't happen since I've stayed off men ever since I ruined their friendship...”

And he was not going to repeat that mistake ever again. He would not ruin the relationship between Nico and Jason just because he liked them.. He would not play with fire like that ever again.


	5. Playing Russian Roulette

_4\. Chapter: Playing Russian Roulette_

 

“Pancakes with raspberries and two black coffees – and the question who on the world you two have been talking to when you were last here!”, hissed the waiter as he placed food and drinks in front of his two brunette guests. “Why were you pretending that you didn't know me...?”

“Calm down, Perce”, grunted Connor and rolled his eyes.

“Chris is an old friend of ours. But he's currently working with the police”, whispered Travis. “To be more precisely, with the task-force that is after your ass.”

“Oh...”, muttered the waiter, suddenly feeling very heavy.

“They're getting closer to catching you, Perce”, whispered Connor with a frown.

“I mean... they eat at your diner, for crying out loud!”, snorted Travis and shook his head.

Percy sighed heavily and turned some to look at the three booths occupied by members of the task-force and a band. Zoe, Calypso, Phoebe and Silena were sitting together in one booth, sharing a big plate of pancakes, while Thalia, Annabeth, Piper and a girl that looked like a female version of Nico sat together in another. He knew the Huntresses of Artemis, they were Rachel's favorite band after all. And looking at the girl that was sitting opposite the guitarist, holding hand with her, he guessed this must be Nico's older sister, Bianca di Angelo. The male CEO was sitting together with his boyfriend and two other members of the task-force, Zhang and la Rue. The two men he fancied turned to him as if they had felt his eyes on them. Both aimed those charming, irresistible smirks at him that made his knees go all jelly on him and waved him over. Without another word to the Stolls, he left to check what the cop and the CEO wanted.

“Yes, Nico, Jason?”, smiled Percy softly.

“How are you feeling, Perce?”, grinned the blonde and leaned over some.

“I—I'm good”, replied the boy and blushed slightly. “Thanks to you.”

“If he bothers you again, at home or on the streets, then you'll give us a call, alright?”, said Nico.

Percy smiled at them. Jason and Nico were protecting him. Ethan had come back once more. And the CEO and the detective had cornered him and told him to get lost. It was cute how protective the two had gotten and it made his heart flutter in all the wrong ways. He shouldn't feel like that. The two were a happy couple. They loved each other. There was no room for him. And why should they want him? He was just a little waiter. No, even less. He was only a little thief. What would a good, law-abiding police detective want with a filthy, little thief...?

“Of course”, whispered Percy lowly.

“Are you alright?”, asked Jason concerned. “You look kind of... sad?”

“Just... a stressful day”, muttered the waiter and shook his head. “Nothing else.”

“When will you get out of here today?”, wanted the Italian man to know.

“Around nine”, replied the green-eyed male.

“You work too much”, criticized Clarisse leisurely.

Percy had to suppress a chuckle at that. Never would he have thought that his task-force would one day be worried about him. Though then again, he also never thought he would get along with them.

“I have to earn money somehow”, countered the waiter and shrugged.

“Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”, screamed a loud voice and startled him.

He frowned and turned around. Not now. Not today. They weren't supposed to be here. A split second later and he had both arms full of a little red-haired girl, hugging the air out of him.

“Ella, what are you doing here?”, asked Percy concerned.

“I have to work, Percy”, sighed a voice behind him.

He turned some and saw his room-mate with a brunette boy in his arms.

“But... Rachel”, whispered Percy. “I have to work too. You said you would take care of them.”

“Well, but I can't”, grunted the red-headed woman sternly. “I have to step in for Lacy today. You know they'll throw me out if I say no. I'm sorry, but I can't take care of them...”

“But I can't either”, grunted Percy. “And Grover is off for a delivery the whole day...”

“Mommy?”, asked Ella with wide eyes. “Why don't you have time for us?”

“Because I have to work, girl”, smiled the waiter.

“And why doesn't daddy have time for us?”, wanted the girl to know next.

“Because she has to work too”, replied Percy and ruffled her hair.

“One of these days, she'll get the genders right”, grunted Rachel and rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I got to go now. Sorry. But... let them sit here for the day or something. They can eat ice-cream or drink milk-shakes until you get off. Be good, kids. All three of you.”

She sat the boy down and left again. The child attached himself to Percy's leg and stared up at him.

“Big brother? Are we staying here for today...?”

“It... seems that way, Ty”, sighed the green-eyed boy exhausted.

“I can take care of them.”

Percy blinked startled and turned to the table again. He had completely forgotten about the guests. How embarrassing. He blushed slightly and shifted Ella in his arms.

“What did you say, Nico?”, asked the waiter slowly.

“I said I can take care of them. I'm free for the rest of the day anyway”, offered the CEO.

“Mommy, who is that man?”, wanted Ella to know.

“I'm Nico”, smiled the Italian softly and extended his hand to ruffle her hair. “And you?”

“Ella!”, exclaimed the red-headed girl brightly. “And Percy is my mommy!”

A blonde and a black eyebrow were lifted at that and the two handsome men looked at him curiously. He turned some to look at the kitchen. Drew wasn't there today. He sat down next to Clarisse, opposite the couple.

“Are those really, really the huntresses?”, gasped Ella wide-eyed as she caught sight of the girls.

Thalia turned around in her seat and looked curiously at her. Though when she noticed the two eager children, she grinned. Suddenly Percy seemed not interesting enough anymore. Both bolted off to the other table to talk to the band Rachel fancied so much. It actually surprised the waiter that Rachel hadn't noticed them. It was practically screaming how exhausted the red-head must be...

“I'm sorry they're bothering your acquaintances”, muttered Percy guiltily.

“Bah, our sisters and the girls can handle that”, shrugged Jason amused.

“Your... sisters...? You mean Thalia Grace and you don't just share your last name...?”, gasped Percy surprised and wide-eyed.

“No. Annoying, big sister”, chuckled the blonde. “Talking about siblings... Who are they...?”

“That's... complicated”, whispered the waiter and shrugged awkwardly. “Tyson is my little half-brother... And Ella... I found her...”

“And you take care of them?”, asked Jason surprised.

“Me and Rachel”, nodded Percy.

“And Rachel is... your girlfriend?”, guessed the CEO slowly.

Percy gave him a look. “Two ex-boyfriends? You didn't figure that I'm gay yet? She's just my best friend since... Seattle. We live together.”

“Seattle? But... you came from New York and met those jerks in Chicago. When were you in Seattle?”, asked the blonde curiously.

“On my way to San Francisco”, smirked Percy enigmatically. “But that's a long story. For a later day. Maybe. For now... Would you really take care of them for me...?”

“Or course”, nodded Nico with a soft smile. “We're friends, after all. And friends take care of each other, right? Besides, they look cute.”

Friends. Of course they were friends. That was all. Percy shook his head slightly.

“Thank you, Nico. Really. Thanks”, smiled the waiter.

 

/break\

 

“You are insane for bringing two children with you! A garage is not the place for them!”

The black-haired woman glared at him before turning around to look at Tyson and Ella.

“But Nyssa”, grunted Nico. “I had to drop by. Jason gave me a special delivery for Leo.”

“Stop glaring at him like that. The kids are cute”, chuckled Jake and ruffled their hair.

“And Tyson has a fascinating level of knowledge about cars. For a child his age”, noted Charles.

“My big brother used to work in a garage like this!”, exclaimed Tyson brightly.

“Really?”, asked the Italian man curiously. “Where?”

Those two could be really handy. Not only did it give him extra credits that he was watching Percy's siblings, no, they could also provide him with some background information. Because it seemed the private eye he had on the case had completely failed him. It wasn't much he knew about Percy by now, but nothing covered with the things this useless detective had dug out.

“In Seattle when we were living with uncle Connor and uncle Travis”, replied Tyson.

“Anyway”, interrupted Nyssa with a stern glare. “Leo is in his break. You'll have to wait.”

“Fair enough”, shrugged Nico and sat down with Ella.

While the little boy was curiously running around between Beckendorf's legs, asking rather intelligent questions, the little girl had sat down at the table silently and pulled a book out of her bag. Taking a look at it, he noticed that it was the first Bartimaeus book.

“You like reading?”, smiled Nico softly.

He had already noticed that she was a bit shy. Bright, yellow-green eyes looked over the edge of the book to stare at him. Calculating if she should answer him. In the end, the trust in her big brother seemed to outweigh her fear. Percy had trusted Nico to take care of them so Nico must be good.

“Yes”, was her simple answer.

“Percy... told me that he found you”, whispered the CEO curiously. “Do you like living with him?”

“Yes!”, nodded Ella, this time rather enthusiastically. “Mommy is great! He and daddy take great care of Ella! So much better than the mean people in the bad house! The other girls were mean...”

“A foster home?”, asked Nico. “Is that where they found you?”

“No”, replied the girl and shook her head. “Ella ran away. Lived in the big house with the books. All alone... A nice lady gave Ella food and allowed Ella to stay there. Many books to read. But mommy noticed that Ella was always around so he asked the nice lady and when he heard that Ella didn't have a home, he took Ella with him. And since then mommy and daddy take care of Ella.”

He chuckled slightly. It was cute how the child confused the genders. And her story only told him just how good Percy's heart truly was. He couldn't believe that someone as pure and kind could be a criminal of any sort. Even if said criminal only stole and never hurt someone.

“And do you remember where that had been?”, wanted Nico to know.

“Of course!”, said Ella. “Ella never forgets anything! Mommy and daddy found Ella in San Francisco. But we didn't stay there very long... and then we moved here!”

San Francisco. He had already guessed something like that. It wasn't hard to fill the gaps in Percy's tale with Jason's resources. Luke and Ethan. Luke Castellan and Ethan Nakamura. Two of the most wanted thieved of the US a decade ago. But about three years ago, they disappeared and never stole a thing again. At least not together. Their special task-force never understood why they split up. But Nico and Jason now knew the truth. Their habitat was Chicago. While Seattle was the first city where the Black Siren had ever stolen something. At least as far as the police could reconstruct it. And they had only figured that out after the thief got big in Los Angeles. The heists in Seattle were different, more chaotic and spontaneous. Jason guessed that Percy must have met someone from his crew there and started planning his thievery from then on. They most likely moved to San Francisco, where they worked on their technique and must have been joined by the third member – as far as the task-force could say today, there were at least three members in the team. Because the thief became more cautious and laid back in his actions, as if someone was having a close eye on him and told him how to be safe. Then they started going after the big fishes and moved to Los Angeles, where they as a group and a persistent offender caught the police's attention for the first time. Before, the police had always assumed it were unrelated robberies.

“Hey there, Nico! Jake said you wanted something?”

“Mh?”, blinked the Italian confused and looked up at the Latino. “Oh. You're back. Yeah. Jay gave me something for your girlfriend. The file of the guy who jumps in for her.”

“Why would he give that to her?”, grunted Leo confused and took the folder.

“Because he doesn't trust the guy”, whispered Nico darkly. “He has a bad feeling about him.”

“What's his name?”, asked the engineer curiously.

“Octavian Simmons”, answered the CEO. “Jay wants Reyna to take a look at it. Her feelings are pretty often pretty right. Either way, we both hope she'll be better soon.”

“She sure will”, chuckled Leo amused. “Silena practically moved in with us to provide her with self-made chicken soup and take care of her. You know what a mother hen she can be...”

“Oh yes”, snorted Nico, remembering the last time he had caught a cold.

“Say... is Jay going to be alright?”, asked the Latino concerned. “I mean, if he doesn't trust this guy... Today is a heist. Will he be okay?”

“He has to”, shrugged the CEO. “His boss insisted on this. The task-force shouldn't be short a man on a heist-night. I'm sure Jay will be fine. You know him.”

“Yeah”, nodded Leo reluctantly. “Call me tomorrow and tell me about it, alright? I'm sure Rey wants to know if the task-force lived without her too.”

“Will do”, chuckled Nico amused. “Tyson, Ella, come on. We'll go.”

 

/break\

 

Five hours, that felt like five days, later had Nico carrying a sleeping Ella on his arms, with a sleepy Tyson holding his hand, through a very disgusting hallway. It looked like out of a very bad episode from CSI. And he kind of expected a murderer or junkie to jump around the corner. The walls were thin and he could hear the screaming of the neighbors, domestic quarreling, or in some cases the reconciliation of them. It was everything he disliked. It was cheap, it was old – and not in the antique, nice way – and it was supposed to not be lived in. There was mold on the walls, dried blood even in some cases, water was leaking through the ceiling, some windows were smashed in and shut off with wood. All Nico wanted to do was get into that apartment, pack their stuff and take Ella, Tyson and Percy with him to his mansion. The two children had loved it. Tyson spend hours with the horses in the stables and at the pool while Ella didn't leave the library, aside from when their cook told them that dinner was ready. He had never seen someone so happy about something as simple as home-made pizza. It seemed what Percy had told them at the restaurant wasn't a joke to lead them away from his night-time job. It was the truth. He was broke. How could a thief stealing jewelry worth millions of dollars be broke? Perhaps they were mistaken after all. Perhaps Percy wasn't the Black Siren. But everything else fit so perfectly... Finally reaching the destined door, he knocked. An auburn-haired woman opened and smiled at him.

“You must be Nico”, smiled the woman. “I'm Juniper Underwood, we already met at the diner. Thank you for bringing them here. And for watching them.”

“Is... Percy here?”, asked Nico and craned his neck some to take a look inside.

“No. He's busy, he forgot to tell you that he has to work... long tonight. Sorry”, answered Juniper.

 

/break\

 

“Good evening, detective”, purred a seductive voice into his ear. “Long time no see.”

“Odd”, smirked the blonde and licked his lips. “To me it feels like only a few hours.”

He whirled around to find the thief gone. Blinking a few times, he turned again just to find the Black Siren just out of reach. As always. But somehow the chase wasn't as annoying as it used to be to him. Because now he knew that even after the thief would have slipped away from him – which the cunning teen certainly succeeded, as always – then he wouldn't have to wait for the next heist. He would see Percy tomorrow at the diner. And this though send a pleasurable jolt through his body. Finally he could see his siren whenever he wanted to. The fact that his little obsession was exactly the same as his boyfriend's was a nice, added bonus.

“The question is, is that a good thing or a bad thing?”, laughed the thief amused. “Should it bother me that I'm constantly on your mind, my dear detective?”

“Feel bothered once I have you in handcuffs”, growled Jason and bolted after him.

“But detective!”, gasped the thief in mock-shock. “I'm an old-fashioned boy. I prefer satin bonds.”

Jason's finger tips felt tingly since all blood left them to flood his nether regions. The image of a naked Percy, tied with black satin bonds to their bed in the mansion, pushed itself at the front of his mind and made him stumble slightly. This little minx was such a tease! Once he would have his hands on the thief, he would punish him for all the trials he put Jason through!

“ _Jason_ ”, cracked Kinzie's voice through the walkie-talkie. “ _Hylla and I are chasing the suspect to the southern exit. Need reinforcement.”_

“ _Kinzie_ ”, cracked Frank's confused voice. “ _You're mistaken. Clarisse and I are chasing him. To the_ _northern exit, it's him_.”

The thief in front of him chuckled amused and threw a taunting look at him over his shoulder, sea-green eyes sparkling with mischief. Jason cursed beneath his breath and took his walkie-talkie.

“You're both idiots. He's heading for the roof. You're chasing imposers, damn it! Move your sorry asses over here, for crying out loud!”

It went silent, his four colleagues certainly on their way upstairs. Angry blue eyes fixed the perfectly shaped ass in front of him and he nearly had the feeling that the thief was putting a little extra sway into his steps today. Shaking his head at that thought, he growled.

“But my dear detective”, snickered Percy amused. “Why so angry?”

“You always send my men onto a wild goose chase! You make a fool out of them and out of me! What do you think how the other cops laugh at us after your heist?”, pressed Jason out between gritted teeth. “We're the joke of the department!”

“Mh... Really?”, asked the thief genuinely surprised.

“Of course!”, snarled the detective aggravated.

Before he could give another sharp comment, he was hit in the chest by something hard. Blinking confused, he caught the object. A beautiful tiara with three red, tear-shaped sapphires.

“Th... That's the Persephone's Tears”, gasped Jason stunned.

“Yeah”, drawled the thief and shrugged. “It's kind of impossible to sell that one on the black market with all the influence it's owner has in the underworld. You can return it if you want. It's of no use for me anyway. Though it's rather pretty.”

Did Percy seriously just return something he had stolen just to make Jason look better...? If he brought that back to the Muse Museum and to Hazel, not only Hades di Angelo would be more than delighted – he was a big sponsor of the museum and also of the police department even though he was living in San Francisco these days – no, Brunner would finally lay off him too. This was his chance to shine once again. Why should Percy do that?

“Why...?”, whispered the detective dumbfounded and run even faster to catch up with the teen, who was already way ahead of him on their chase up the stairwell.

“I don't want you to be in trouble because of me, Jason”, shrugged the teen.

“You called me Jason”, noted the blonde and raised one eyebrow.

Sea-green eyes widened. “Uh... That is your name, after all.”

“But you never call me by my name, much less my first name. At least not outside the diner, Percy.”

The thief froze for a second, his hand already on the door-handle to the roof. Jason stopped to stare at the black-clad boy's back, well, his eyes trailed down to a certain body-part once more.

“When?”, whispered the teen lowly. “Did I slip? Was it the story I told you at the restaurant?”

“I knew it the first time I met you, Percy”, replied Jason softly. “I recognized you.”

“But... But that was weeks ago! Three heists ago!”, exclaimed the thief confused.

“I don't have any solid proof”, shrugged the detective leisurely. “Nothing to arrest you.”

“Well... Then we should probably keep it that way, wouldn't you agree, my dear detective?”, and with those words, the boy bolted out of the door.

Jason cursed slightly and followed. Though once outside, he froze in shock. The new guy, Simmons, he stood there on the roof, obviously he had been waiting there, calculating that this would be the thief's chosen way out of the building. He stood there with his gun raised.

“Hand up, bloody thief”, growled the other blonde.

“Ah, ah, ah, I'm sorry, but I have another important meeting later. No time for playing. I know my dear task-force, you wouldn't shoot me”, chuckled the thief with a cocky grin and walked leisurely up to the end of the roof.

What Percy was playing had always been a cheated, safe game of Russian Roulette, because he knew that no bullets were inside the casings. None of them, not Reyna or Hylla, neither Kinzie nor Clarisse, not Frank and especially not Jason, would shoot him. He had never brought harm to anyone. He didn't even carry a gun with him on his heists. He was a harmless thief, aside from mischief and mockery. But what Percy didn't know was that with Simmons on the task-force, one casing was loaded. The shot rang through Jason's ears and send shivers down his spine. Everything seemed to slow down. The thief, already at the edge of the roof, turned with wide, surprised sea-green eyes and stared at the two blondes. Blood sprayed everywhere from the teen's abdomen, the impact strong enough to throw him off the roof.

“What just happened?”, gasped a breathless Frank behind him.

“You fucking moron! Did you shoot him?”, screamed Kinzie.

She and her partner cornered Simmons and took his gun from him, while Jason, Frank and Clarisse ran up to see where the thief had fallen too.

“He can't live through that. We're way too high”, hissed Hylla as she and the other two joined them.

“That's imp...”, started her partner

“His hang-glider!”, gasped Clarisse, pointing at the black-glad figure in the sky.

Relief filled Jason's heart. Percy would have never lived through falling from this roof. At least the boy was still conscious and had reacted just in time. But his relief was replaced by concern as he noticed that the teen was holding his mid-section. He had been shot. Shot into the guts. He couldn't go to a hospital with a wound like this. But... Perhaps one of his crew-members was able to take care of him...? Cold sweat started to cover his hands.

“Bloody hell, I nearly had him”, swore Octavian.

Suddenly all Jason could see was red. The red of the sapphires Percy had returned to him just to help him. The red of the pretty boy's blood on the stones beneath his feet. Blood this asshole had spilled. Balling a fist, he turned around and broke his new partner's nose.

“You're out of this task-force. If I ever see your fucking face again, I will break more than just your nose, you bastard”, growled Jason angered.


	6. Playing Musical Chairs

_5\. Chapter: Playing Musical Chairs_

 

Nico laid wide-awake in the big bed, staring at the ceiling. Then he turned some to look at the clock next to the bed. Jason should have returned hours ago. Did something happen? Was he alright? Worry surged through his being. But no. Nothing happened on a heist. The Black Siren was tame. Percy was a good person. But... what if something had happened to Percy...? His guts twisted. No. His imagination was running wild. He should try to sleep some.

Yawning widely, he turned around in the bed and closed his eyes tightly.

 

/break\

 

“This is horrible”, muttered Frank tired.

His head rested against Clarisse's shoulder, the brunette looking equally tired. Hylla and Kinzie paced in front of them, all four of them staring at the door to their boss' office. The screaming from the three people within could be heard all around the department. Their shift was long since over. But they couldn't leave Jason alone in this. Though then the door opened and banged loudly against the wall, revealing a very angry Jason.

“Detective Grace!”, called the salt-and-pepper haired chief after the blonde. “I want you to leave your gun and your badge here. For now.”

Jason gritted his teeth and handed both over to his boss. Octavian stood within the office, smirking satisfied at that. Their boss shook his head in worry.

“Jason”, whispered Brunner softly. “You hurt a fellow detective. You threatened him. All for doing his job. You can't expect me to turn two blind eyes on that one.”

“His job?”, spat Jason angered. “How is it his job to shoot an unarmed, harmless suspect?”

“It looked as if he was pulling a weapon”, grunted Octavian.

“It's your word against his word, Jason. And you're the one who hurt one of my officers”, sighed Brunner and shook his head. “I am forced to suspect you for now, until this is cleared at least.”

“J—Jason!”, gasped Hylla wide-eyed and looked after their leader.

“Let him go”, muttered Clarisse and shook her head.

“What's supposed to happen to the task-force without Jason?”, asked Kinzie furiously.

“Octavian had spend years on the Nakamura-Castellan task-force, he is qualified to take over for now. At least until everything is settled”, grunted Chiron, lifting his hand. “No. No protests.”

The four members of the task-force glared darkly before they stormed out of the department too.

 

/break\

 

“They should have returned already”, whispered Juniper with knitted eyebrows.

She was pacing through the living room, minding to not step on Pitch and Snatch (the two rats running through the apartment. Tyson and Ella had given them the names). Her eyes traced the cracks in the wall, trying to see the forms the children and she were always guessing there. She really hated that apartment. All she wanted for Percy was to find someone and move out of this rat hole. Someone nice and handsome, like Nico di Angelo. Or perhaps Jason Grace, but Grover was so much against Percy having something with a police man. It was too bad. She saw the way both, di Angelo and Grace, kept looking at Percy. The little thief seemed oblivious to it, but Juniper was a little more experienced when it came to this. She would love to tell the poor boy about it, but Grover and Rachel would not approve of it.

“Uncle Juniper?”, mumbled the sleepy voice of Ella. “Where are mommy and daddy and auntie Grover...? Shouldn't they return...? Ella wants mommy to read a story!”

“Go to the bed, children. Once they return, your mommy will be tired too”, ordered Juniper.

“Okay, auntie Juni”, nodded Tyson obediently and pulled his sister along back to the bedroom.

The auburn-haired woman sighed and sat down on the sleeping couch where Percy and Rachel slept. She stared at the door until it finally opened. Though once it opened, she wished it hadn't. Rachel and Grover were supporting Percy on either side of the teen, all three still clad in their black night-job clothes. But even on the black clothes, he could see the red shimmering on Percy's stomach. Her eyes widened in panic upon seeing the big, red strain.

“What happened?”, asked the auburn-haired woman worried.

 

/break\

 

Nico bolted up in his sleep as the bedroom door slammed shut. Blinking a few times, he turned to glare at his boyfriend. Not enough that Jason came that late, no he also had to wake Nico. Oh, he was so sleeping on the couch for the next three weeks.

“Are you out of your mind, Grace?”, growled the Italian annoyed.

Instead of an answer, he was hit in the chest by something hard. Blinking again, he looked at the object that had been thrown at him. Dark eyes widened in surprise.

“Where... How... The Persephone's Tear...”, stuttered the CEO stunned.

“Percy gave it to me after I told him how many problems I'm having because of him”, growled the blonde gravely and collapsed on the bed next to his boyfriend.

“What's wrong, Jay?”, whispered Nico, noticing the dark mood of his lover.

“You know how I told you about Simmons, right?”, grunted Jason and turned onto his back, resting his head in the Italian's lap. “He shot Percy.”

“What?”, exclaimed the CEO wide-eyed and in utter disbelief.

“He shot Percy!”, repeated the detective angered. “I've had a wonderful conversation with our little thief, but then we arrived at the roof-top and Percy wanted to go with his hang-glider, as he always does from higher buildings. But it seemed Simmons had been waiting for us up there and then he just shot Percy! He shot him! The last thing I saw of our thief was how he glided through the air with blood dripping from his stomach! And then this bastard had the audacity to file an appeal against me for breaking his fucking nose! And now I'm suspended.”

“Slow down, Jason!”, grunted Nico irritated. “It's the middle of the fucking night, you just woke me. So give my brain a bit time to proceed that crap, will you?”

Jason flinched slightly. His boyfriend tended to get easily irritated when he was woken up. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The good thing about this was he could sleep in tomorrow. No work he had to go to... Turning some, he cuddled closer to his lover. Nico looked deep in thought. And worried. Until panic hit him.

“Percy got shot?”, exclaimed the Italian wide-eyed. “Where is he? Is he alright?”

“I have no idea”, sighed Jason and shook his head. “How can I know...? His crew most likely took him with them... But I have no idea if he is alright... if they can take proper care of him...”

“But... But... what if he's not...?”, whispered the CEO in fear. “We can't loose him before we even had him. He has to be alright, Jay!”

“I... have no idea”, murmured the detective gravely, wrapping his arms tightly around the younger man's waist. “What can we do, Nikki?”

“We need to check on him”, declared Nico determined. “But we can't go to his apartment. It would be too suspicious. He may run. So... We... We will eat breakfast tomorrow morning at the diner. His friend, that dark-blonde one, she works there too. And she was at his apartment yesterday when I brought the kids home. I think she knows. She can tell us how he is.”

“Yeah... That's a... good plan”, yawned the blonde and cuddled even closer.

“You should sleep now, love”, whispered Nico, running his fingers through blonde, stubborn hair. “You've had a hard day. Sleep. We'll check on our thief tomorrow morning...”

“Should have... protected... him...”, mumbled Jason, slowly drifting off into a deep slumber.

 

/break\

 

“Love, please, you should stay in bed!”, pleaded Leo desperately.

His fiance however had other plans. She grabbed her clothes and tried to change while the Latino tried to snatch them away from her again. Leo turned some to glare at the woman in the door way. But the black-haired detective only shrugged casually.

“I think she has to know that her partner got suspended”, grunted the woman.

“Yeah, Hylla. Because your sister is such a serene and calm woman who wouldn't lunge at anyone right away”, snorted the mechanic and gritted his teeth.

“I don't plan on lunging at anyone”, replied Reyna and raised one eyebrow at her fiance. “After everything Hyl just told us, I'm not stupid enough to assault this Simmons.”

“At least something”, sighed Leo, combing his fingers through his curls. “But can't you lay down until your better, please? Silena will come over with chicken soup later.”

“I don't need the soup. I have a bone to pick”, declared Reyna determined.

“I don't like where this is going”, whispered Leo and shook his head slowly.

 

/break\

 

“B—But Mister di Angelo!”, tried the assistant desperately.

“No. Not today. I'm taking the day off”, interrupted the CEO finally. “Tell my sister she has to deal with the day on her own. I have important things to do.”

“Oh, Miss di Angelo will not like this at all”, sighed Lou.

“I'm sorry, Lou”, chuckled Nico. “Good bye.”

He shut his cellphone and turned around to look at the bed. The messy blonde hair stuck up from beneath the sheets, the muscular chest heaving in an even rhythm. The detective was still out cold. He understood, after everything that had happened the last day. But now it was time to get up. The earlier they were dressed and ready, the earlier they know what was wrong with their thief. At least he had a method to always wake the blonde up.

“Morning sex.”

“Wha? Where?”, exclaimed Jason and bolted up. “I'm ready!”

He yawned widely and ruffled his hair. Nico chuckled amused and shook his head.

“I aimed to wake you, moron”, grunted the Italian. “Get up and get dressed. We don't have time for morning sex. We need to get going. Don't you want to know if Percy is alright?”

Suddenly the blonde seemed completely awake. Everything from last night came rushing back at the detective and not even morning sex appealed to him any longer. No, the image of Percy, soaked in his own blood, doubling over as if he was... he was... No, how could he think of sex while not knowing if his little thief was alright...?

“Come on now, Nico! We don't have time to stand around”, scolded Jason and grabbed Nico's hand.

“At least close the button on your jeans, Jay”, advised the Italian and shook his head.

“Oh. Brilliant idea, Nikki”, nodded the blonde and closed it. “Alons-y!”

“Off we go. And no more _Doctor Who_ for you”, chuckled Nico and shook his head.

“Why not?”, whined the detective as they left their mansion.

The Italian ignored his boyfriend, instead rather hurrying even more. They needed to get there soon. He needed to know if their cute, little thief was alright. Or if he was... A shudder ragged his body.

“He needs to be alright”, declared Nico to himself.

 

/break\

 

After what felt like hours, they finally reached the little diner. Both took a deep breath and entered.

“Good morning, Mister di Angelo, Mister Grace. Two black coffees and scrambled eggs with bacon?”, smiled the most beautiful being they knew at them.

“P—Percy”, stuttered Nico in utter disbelief.

“Yes, Mister di Angelo?”, asked the waiter softly. “Your usual table?”

The two nodded stupefied and followed the teen to their usual table. Then the boy just left for the kitchen again. Sky-blue and dark brown orbs locked in question.

“Could it be that we were mistaken? That he isn't the Black Siren?”, asked Nico lowly.

“He is”, grunted Jason darkly. “I confronted him last night and he kind of confessed.”

“Perhaps he wanted to fake his death to stop being a thief...?”, guessed the Italian.

“He couldn't have known Simmons would shoot him. And I saw that look in his eyes.”

“Bu-”, the CEO was interrupted as a plate was placed in front of him.

“Everything alright? You two look disturbed”, asked Percy concerned.

“You got shot!”, hissed Jason annoyed. “What are you even doing here?”

“Ah, but my dear detective”, chuckled the teen and waved a finger in front of their faces. “No proof, no reason to arrest me. And something like odd sick-days after a thief got shot would be suspicious, wouldn't it? I'm all peachy, don't... worry.”

His smile was strained and he was holding his side. The waiter coughed slightly and straightened up some, though when he removed his hand from his side, there was a red stain on the shirt.

“K—Ketchup”, said Percy hastily and bit his lip.

“Don't bullshit us, Jackson”, growled the CEO irritated. “You're pale, you're sweating, your knees are shaking. And you're even bleeding through your shirt! You belong into a bed. Did you even take proper care of the wound?”

“Percy? Are you alright?”, asked a soft, worried voice behind them. “You took so long, I thought-“

“I'm fine, Juniper”, mumbled Percy and rubbed his forehead. “Just... ow... peachy...”

Her eyes trailed over to the two concerned men sitting at the table. She could see the worry and love practically radiating from them. Oh, if only everything could take a different turn...

“Listen... Juniper”, addressed the blonde man her. “Percy needs medical treatment.”

“I'm fine”, hissed Percy, swaying a little. “Juni used to be a nurse.”

“A nurse, but not a doctor”, whispered Juniper back.

“We know a doctor”, urged Nico. “He could take care of this. Please, Percy. You need to get checked. We... We won't bring you to a hospital, we promise!”

“Why should... you...”, started the waiter, blinking a few times before falling over.

Jason reacted fast and caught the boy, pulling the unconscious teen onto his lap. Juniper frowned worried at her charge and at the affectionate way the detective caressed the boy's hair.

“Take him with you”, whispered the waitress and fidgeted with her hands.

“What?”, asked the Italian surprised.

“He may not know why you want to help him, but I am not blind”, smiled the woman softly. “You care for him. Very, very deeply. I know you won't take this as an opportunity to arrest him. And he... needs help. I did my best, but we didn't have any medicine or the right equipment to stitch him up properly... If... If you know a doctor, please, please help him.”

Jason looked at her with an open and honest expression. “I won't. I just want him safe...”

“Then hurry, for the love of everything, hurry”, ushered the waitress them out.

The detective stood, carrying the wounded teen bridal style out of the diner. Nico threw a last grateful glance at the young woman before following his boyfriend, searching for his cellphone with one hand, the other resting on Percy's head.

“I hope Rachel and Grover won't be too mad at me for this”, whispered Juniper with a sad smile.

 

/break\

 

Jason frowned worried. The red stain on the white clothes got bigger and bigger. He was glad once they reached their mansion. Nico behind him was still talking with Will. Finally, the younger man put his cellphone away and looked up at him, nodding slowly.

“He said he'll come. He promised”, whispered the Italian.

“Ow”, whimpered the teen in Jason's arms.

“Sht, don't worry, Perce”, murmured the blonde softly. “We're nearly there, love.”

“I told him to hurry”, added the CEO.

They finally reached their mansion and Nico hurried to open the doors for his boyfriend until they entered their bedroom. The Italian pushed the heavy, dark blue curtains out of the way so Jason could place the unconscious boy on the black silken sheets. The teen moaned in pain.

“We should... clean the wound already”, whispered the CEO.

The detective nodded and slowly untied the apron to remove it. Then he pulled the blood-soaked shirt over the boy's head, gently placing it back onto the pillow.

“Poor thing”, sighed Nico, leaving for their bathroom.

He returned with the first-aid kit and a stash of white towels, from which Jason took one to press it against the bleeding wound. It had been stitched, yes. But Percy being a stubborn moron and going to work had torn it again. Nico paced in front of the bed until finally the doorbell could be heard.

“I'll go. You stay with our little thief”, grunted the Italian and left the bedroom.

“Just tell him to hurry”, growled Jason, kissing Percy's forehead softly. “You'll be alright again.”

The CEO breathed deep and went to open the door. Though who came face-to-face with him was not who he expected. He groaned annoyed.

“Reyna. Not. The. Time”, grunted the Italian and rolled his eyes.

“Not the time?”, snorted the woman in front of him and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I'm here to check on my partner after he got suspended. What are you even doing here?”

“I'm here to check on my partner after he got suspended”, replied the CEO with a wicked smirk. “So, I hope you can piece one and one together and figure out that we are... busy”, said Nico nonchalantly. “He's currently... tied to the bed.”

Not literally, but since he had to take care of Percy, he was tied to the bed. Reyna in front of him blushed and gaped, turning on her heels without another word to leave. Nico had figured quite the way to get rid of about anyone who was their friends. That always came in handy whenever he truly wanted to do something quite dirty with his boyfriend.

“Hold on there, di Angelo!”, grunted Reyna loudly from far away, turning to walk over to him again, standing in front of the Italian to glare darkly. “I wanted to talk to Jason. Stop distracting me with you dirty stuff that happens behind closed doors.”

“Look, we're really busy”, sighed Nico, leaning against the door to block the path. “Just... tell me whatever you want to tell him, okay?”

“We're behind him. Just tell him, okay?”, muttered the female detective with a worried frown. “We are still his team. Regardless of what Brunner says. And I'm his partner, not Simmons'.”

“Wait, what?”, gasped the CEO surprised. “You mean that guy replaced Jason? After he shot-?”

“You really should use your mouths for other things aside from blow-jobs”, snorted Reyna and shook her head annoyed. “Yes. Simmons replaces your boyfriend. Watch your bedroom. He may try replacing Jason there too.”

“Okay”, nodded Nico with a frown. “Thanks, Avila Ramírez-Arellano.”

Reyna waved at him before leaving. This time for good. She had other things to do too, after all. Like apologizing to her fiance for example. Poor Leo had been very worried for her after all.

Still, her thoughts were with Jason for now. What would she do if she had been in his place? Well, she most likely would have punched Octavian too. Shooting their Siren! Seriously. Oh, sure. They would one day catch him. But because they out-witted him. And not because they killed him, for crying out loud! They had been chasing that darn thief for months now. It was... perhaps a bit odd, but somehow they all liked that thief. His heists were always fun. And he always stayed polite and never hurt anyone. How could anyone shoot such a nice boy? Oh yes, she was sure that it was only a boy. Perhaps a rich, bored kid whose parents didn't pay any attention to him, who knew. But certainly not an adult. That much was evident.

Though now with Simmons in the game, Black Siren's chances of living through it were low. Very, very low. Because that blonde seemed to have a mindset of his own concerning methods.

Everything had been perfect, damn it! They team was balanced. But now she felt as if Brunner had thrown that guy at them and because every place was already taken, hey, why not a game of musical chairs? One had to go.

She cursed beneath her breath. Jason had been her partner since forever. And she would be damned if she and her friends and team wouldn't be able to get this straight again!

“Reyna? Are you alright?”

She yelped surprised at the sudden voice and lifted her gaze from the street. To stare at the blonde man with the soft, concerned blue eyes. She blinked a few times.

“Will. What are you doing here?”, asked Reyna and tilted her head. “The _Apollo's Heart Hospital_ is at the other side of the city. So is your house.”

“Oh well”, sighed the blonde doctor and shrugged. “Nico asked me to come over.”

“Really? Odd. Well, anyway. I need to go. Bye, Will.”

“Have a nice day, Reyna.”

How odd. Why would they ask Will to come over if they were so busy all on their own and didn't want... Reyna... Oh no. That couldn't be. She turned to frown after the doctor. Doctor. Because if Jason and Nico really had been so busy, why had the CEO been completely dressed then? The Black Siren had gotten shot. And if there was one thing Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano could say about herself, it was that she knew her partner. Jason was completely obsessed with the thief. Not on the I'll-catch-him-to-get-him-behind-bars kind of way. And besides that, as far as she knew, Jason had brought hurt birds and wounded puppies home even as a little boy. He wouldn't really bring a hurt thief home with him... Oh, who was she kidding? Of course he would.

Her eyes lingered on the slowly retreating form of the blonde doctor.

“I hope you can fix our little thief again”, whispered Reyna softly. “I should hurry to get home.”

 

/break\

 

“Daddy?”, whispered a soft uncertain voice.

“Mh?”, grunted Rachel, too tired to open her eyes.

They had taken the whole night to patch Percy together again and she had given quite a few liters of her own blood so he could even make it. So she was pretty exhausted herself.

“I'm tired, girl”, muttered the redhead. “Go back to sleep.”

“But we should be at school”, noted Tyson with a frown. “Normally you would have brought us to school hours ago, big sister.”

“You can stay home today and read and play all day long”, mumbled Rachel and yawned. “Mommy and I need some rest. You do something fun, yeah?”

“But mommy left this morning”, noted Ella confused.

“That's nice, darling”, mumbled the redhead. “Wait, what?”

She bolted up and stared wide-eyed at the empty spot on the couch next to her. This stupid moron, where was he? He was supposed to be there. To rest. He wouldn't...

“Ty, bring me my cellphone... somewhere on the table”, ordered Rachel.

The brunette nodded enthusiastically and got the phone for the woman. His little sister all the while curled together next to the big, black dog. Mrs. O'Leary yawned widely and laid one paw over her.

“Come on, you little moron”, hissed Rachel darkly, biting her nails, waiting for Percy to pick up the line. “Come on, please...”

Don't die on me like that, was her little prayer. But with the children listening?

“Yes, please? Hello, Rachel”, answered the completely wrong voice. “I'm sorry, but Percy can't answer the phone at the moment. Take good care of Tyson and Ella for a while.”

“What... I... Who is this?”, growled the redhead annoyed.

“Nico di Angelo. We met at the diner yesterday. I'm a friend of Percy's.”

Nico. Of course she knew that name. With Percy it was always Nico this and Jason that and since her friend had discovered that the two were a couple... Oh no.

“Y—You and your boyfriend. Stay away from him”, warned Rachel.

“Not possible. He's laying in our bed at the moment. The doctor is taking care of him.”

“Doctor? What?”, asked the redhead completely confused.

“We can't possible bring a criminal to the hospital when he starts bleeding from his bullet wound, can we?”, chuckled the voice amused. “Don't worry. He's taken care of. He's safe with us.”

She had quite a few retorts on the tip of her tongue. But she refrained from saying them since Ella and Tyson were still in the same room and the kids were too young for that kind of cussing.

“Listen closely”, whispered Rachel. “We'll get him back before you can even say arrest warrant.”

“Of course, Miss Thief”, chuckled Nico and hung up on her.

How was she supposed to explain to Juniper and Grover that their stubborn and very injured friend had sneaked away from her watchful eye and got caught by the head of the task-force and his boyfriend? This would not end well...

 

/break\

 

“Consider yourself lucky that this ended well”, muttered Will completely exhausted.

The sun was already setting and he was practically dead on his feed. The two men staring at him however looked like death too. They had spend the past hours pacing the room, eager to help but most of the time quite useless. He looked over at his patient.

“You know I am supposed to report any bullet wound”, drawled the doctor.

“Well, there was no bullet. No idea what could have caused the wound”, grunted Jason with a glare.

“Tell us if he is going to be alright again, Solace!”, growled Nico aggravated.

“I can't promise you anything”, shrugged Will. “I mean, this is not a hospital and even though you warned me about what I had to do and I was able to bring everything with me... I can't guarantee that he'll make it. His fever is still quite high. Try cooling it down. And if he... screams or talks in his sleep, most likely fever dreams. Give it some time, rest and medicine. And we'll see. I'll come again to check on him, that much is for sure. And believe me, I don't want to hear a single word as to why you're having a teenager with a bullet wound in your bed. I don't even want to start thinking about his other scars. Just keep me out of this, okay?”

“Okay”, nodded the detective. “And... Thanks, Will. You're a good friend.”

“Don't mention it. I'm serious. Don't mention it to anyone or I'll loose my job because of this.”


	7. Playing Doctor

_6\. Chapter: Playing Doctor_

 

“ _Mommy, mommy are we there yet?”_

“ _No, Percy. We still have quite the way to go. Why don't you play with Tyson?”_

“ _He's boring!”, pouted the young boy on the back-seat, glaring at the infant next to him. “All he does is giggling and babbling and pooping.”_

_The beautiful brunette woman in the front seat smiled softly and turned a little to look at her boys._

“ _You're ten years old, Percy. You need to start developing some patience.”_

“ _Mom!”, whined the older child, a little boy with black, wild hair and deep, green eyes. “That has nothing to do with it! I just want to get to Montauk! I really, really want to be there already!”_

“ _I know you love our vacations”, chuckled his mother amused. “But that won't get us faster there. It's raining. It's safer to drive slow. Don't worry, we'll get there, Percy.”_

_Percy slumped back in his seat, his arms crossed over his chest and pouting. He hated long drives_ _in cars. He really, really hated them. But he loved it when his mom would take him and go away for the weekend – at least one weekend, only them. Well, and the baby now. He glared slightly at the little thing next to him. His baby-brother grinned broadly and toothlessly back at him and he had to smile. Why did the little thing have to be so cute anyway? Percy really, really wanted to not like the baby. Because it was just a reason more for his mom to stay with his stepfather. And Percy really, really hated his stepfather. The thought alone made him shiver. Though the baby, he guessed, was not to be blamed for it's father. Percy's father had left his mom alone too. Perhaps it were men. Must be it. They were all stupid. He really hoped that once he was all grown up, he wouldn't be like that. Extending his hand, he ruffled Tyson's tiny bit of brown hair. Ty was cute._

 

/break\

 

“How is he?”, asked Nico concerned as he entered the bedroom.

“Feverish. And he is constantly mumbling something...”, replied the blonde on the bed.

Since Jason was suspended anyway, he had all the time to care for their little thief. It had been two days now and Percy had not opened his eyes even once. It seemed his fever got even worse.

“What did Will say?”, whispered the detective, patting the sweaty forehead with a wet cloth.

“That it's normal”, grunted the Italian with a glare. “That it will eventually go back. That it's a good sign because it means his body is fighting the infection he got by being a stupid little moron.”

“He really said that?”, chuckled the blue-eyed man amused.

Nico rolled his eyes and came closer, sitting down on their thief's other side, taking the cloth from his boyfriend and glaring at the blonde slightly.

“You need to rest. You haven't slept at all, have you? Let me take care of him and you go and lay down somewhere, Jay”, ordered the Italian man a bit annoyed at his boyfriend's stubbornness.

“I can't leave his side”, declined Jason and shook his head.

“Well then”, grunted Nico. “Lay down here and sleep a bit. But for god's sake, rest!”

“He's having feverish dreams”, mumbled the detective as he obeyed.

Jason laid down next to the waiter, taking the boy's hand into his own, staring at the teen's face.

“Bad dreams?”, asked the CEO concerned.

“At first is was just odd babbling, but now, if you listen closely, you can even understand what he says. I don't know, I guess good dreams. The only thing I understand is mommy”, grinned Jay.

“How cute”, chuckled the Italian, caressing Percy's cheek.

Though that was the moment the rather peaceful expression on the thief's face died was replaced by one of pain and fear. The teen started to turn violently in the bed and struggle against the hold Jason hastily got of him to keep him from hurting himself.

“No”, whimpered the teen, shaking his head. “Mommy, don't... Not... Wake up, please... No...”

“Percy, Percy calm down”, whispered Nico soothingly, holding the boy's head in place. “It's just a dream, calm down, you're safe.”

“Not so cute anymore”, muttered the detective with a frown. “You think his mom... died?”

“I don't know. You're the detective”, grunted the CEO. “You got a cellphone, you got Clarisse's number. Go and call her and ask her to take a look into this.”

Jason frowned for a moment. He supposed he could do that. Clarisse knew of Percy's stalker-problem and he could easily say that it was related somehow.

 

/break\

 

“Yes! I win!”, cheered Kinzie loudly.

Clarisse rolled her eyes at the other three female detectives. Reyna, Kinzie and Hylla had been playing poker for the last hour now. Even though they were supposed to fill some reports in. But then again, no one was working anyway. Frank had left for lunch to meet up with Hazel. And Clarisse was busy being bored. She was not in the mood to play. This situation was setting her on edge. She didn't trust Simmons. She jumped slightly as her phone rang.

“Hello?”, grunted the brunette woman annoyed.

“ _Clarisse. You have to do me a favor.”_

“Jason?”, hissed Clarisse surprised. “What... What do you want?”

“ _It's about Percy. Now that I'm having so much free time at my hands, I wanted to dive right into his problem with his stalkers. But something seems off. Can you check for me about his mother's death? In New York. I don't know her name, but Jackson must be the last name...”_

She grunted annoyed and hung up on the blonde. Couldn't make it any easy for her, could he? Well, time to check Percy Jackson thoroughly. A smirk tugged on her lips.

 

/break\

 

“ _What's going to happen now, Chiron?”, whispered Percy nervously._

_He was sitting on the backseat of the police car, his attentive eyes fixed on his baby brother._

“ _I'll bring you home”, smiled the nice detective. “You've been through a lot today.”_

_Home. He flinched at the word. What kind of home was it without his mother? The car parked in front of their building and Chiron got out of the car to help the children. Percy clung just the slightest bit tighter to Tyson as they stood in front of the door. Chiron knocked._

“ _Yes?”, grunted Percy's stepfather, glaring annoyed at the two children._

“ _Sergeant Ugliano”, nodded Chiron politely. “I'm sorry, but I bring bad news...”_

_Percy bit his lips. Bad news. His mother was dead. That wasn't bad news. It were the worst news possible. His mom had been the only thing protecting him. Now he was alone with his stepfather..._

 

/break\

 

“No... No... don't...”, whimpered Percy, his eyes tightly closed.

Nico frowned darkly down at the teen. Tears were running down the boy's cheeks, he had been whimpering in painful memories for over a quarter hour now. Dark eyes looked over at the detective, peacefully sleeping next to them. What was he supposed to do? Waking Jason? Perhaps he knew what to do? Whatever Percy was remembering at the moment, it was painful and bad. And Nico hated the fact alone that his Percy was having such memories to begin with. But he couldn't wake Jason. His blonde had been awake for too long now, he needed some rest too.

“Oh, Percy”, sighed the Italian and shook his head. “Please be good... What's tormenting you?”

“Don't touch me...”, gasped the thief and turned around, hiding his face in Nico's lap.

The CEO frowned, a deep fear settling in his mind. His fingers gliding through the soft, black hair.

 

/break\

 

_Percy groaned as he slowly kicked the door close with his foot. For a second he contemplated if it would have been better to close it with his hand. But that suggested lifting his right arm. And with his dislodged shoulder, that was more than just a bad plan. After six years, he knew exactly how long to keep from moving his arm then. He sighed deeply, missing his mother. Whenever he left for school, he had that bad feeling. He didn't want to leave Ty alone with Gabe. But his mother_ _wouldn't forgive him if he dropped out of school like that._

“ _Ow, father!”, whimpered the voice of his little brother and he frowned._

_He hurried over to their bedroom to check on Tyson. And what he saw made him freeze in fear._

“ _Not. Him!”, growled Percy, rage clouding his eyes as he pulled the half-naked boy away from underneath the completely drunken man. “Never him.”_

_Tyson whimpered and clung to his older brother. Perhaps he was mistaken. Perhaps it was time to drop out of school and get as far away as possible. The drunken sergeant stared up at him with a sneer and Percy knew they would never be safe in New York._

 

/break\

 

“What's wrong, my love?”, mumbled Jason and yawned widely.

He had woken up because of the screams and the curses. Screams from Percy, curses from Nico. The blonde rubbed his eyes and yawned, scooting closer to the two young men he loved. The Italian looked extremely exhausted, exchanging the bandage of their little thief.

“His feverish dreams took a drastic change”, muttered the CEO and yawned himself. “I'm dead on my feet... I have no idea what's wrong with him...”

Sighing depressed, the detective leaned over to place a chaste kiss on the damp forehead of their little waiter. The fever seemed to have gone down some, but the pained expression on Percy's face was more concerning than the fever at hand.

“What is he dreaming of?”, asked Jason lowly.

 

/break\

 

“Percy Jackson?”

Clarisse straightened up some and blinked confused. She had been so sucked into her research, not finding a thing, that she hadn't noticed how time went by and even less how her boss came to stand behind her. Frowning slightly, she looked up some.

“Lieutenant Brunner?”, grunted the brunette and turned some.

“Why are you interested in the boy?”, asked Chiron softly.

There was a quite sad tint in his eyes and Clarisse frowned slightly.

“He's a friend”, replied Detective la Rue. “But it seems he has a little stalker-problem. So Jason asked me to check if there is anything in his past... How do you know Percy, sir?”

“Well”, chuckled her boss darkly, pulling a chair over to sit beside her. “I had been a mere detective in New York back then, I was young and it had been quite... rough...”

“What had happened?”, asked Clarisse curiously. “There's no real note in here. He doesn't have a file. It's like he had never come into conflict with the law or filed anything concerning a stalker.”

“As far as I know, he is a good boy”, hummed Chiron thoughtful. “You see, I first met him working his mother's case. But it had turned out that it was only an accident.”

“Accident?”, asked Clarisse curiously.

“Yes. A car accident. She, along with her two sons, had a car accident on a frozen road”, replied the lieutenant, deep in thoughts. “We brought them home, to Percy's stepfather. Sergeant Ugliano.”

“Oh. His stepfather is a policeman?”

“He was, yes”, nodded Chiron with a dark frown.

“Huh?”, was all the young woman could think of.

“You see, not long after his mother had passed away, Percy started to... cause trouble, more or less. The boy started to claim that his stepfather abused him. In a police station, where Gabe Ugliano was a highly valued man, no one believed the boy. Sergeant Ugliano claimed that the boy was rebellious and got into fights at school and in the park, that the boy wanted attention and was fighting him as a figure of authority since he was only the stepfather.”

“Well, what was the case then?”, asked Clarisse and edged closer.

“All I know is that Percy and his younger brother disappeared without a trace six years later”, answered the man darkly. “No one knows what had happened, but is was pretty suspicious so I took a closer look into it, asked a bit around in the neighborhood. It turned out some of the direct neighbors heard... suspicious moans and screams, but they turned blind eyes on it. They only told me that they had, in all the years since Sally Ugliano had passed, had never seen another woman in, near or around the flat. The way it seemed to me, the boy had been right after all...”

“How old was he when he disappeared?”, whispered Clarisse darkly.

“Around sixteen, I would say”, said Chiron. “You say you're friends with him? How... is he?”

“Like I said, stalker-problem”, shrugged the brunette woman. “Other than that, I guess he's fine...”

“Well, I should leave”, murmured Chiron with a frown.

Clarisse had an equal frown on her own face as she watched her boss retreating. So Percy had been abused as a child? Should she tell Jason about this or not? It was Percy's privacy after all. It was his to tell and not hers. Oh boy, she really felt bad for the waiter now...

 

/break\

 

“What to do? What to do? What to do?”, whispered Rachel hysterically and walked up and down.

The ringing of the doorbell interrupted her frantic pacing and she turned worried eyes on the door. Before she had a chance to contemplate if she even wanted to open the door, a very enthusiastic Ella took the decision away from her. The little girl opened the door and jumped the man.

“Auntie Grover! Uncle Juniper!”, exclaimed the redheaded child.

The married couple exchanged a meaningful look before Juniper took the girl and left for the bedroom the two children were sharing while Grover walked up to his partner.

“Rachel”, whispered the brunette worried. “After he sneaked away from you – for what I don't blame you, believe me I know the boy – he obviously collapsed at the diner and... that obnoxious blonde took him! But that was one fucking week ago now!”

“I know... But what can we do?”, groaned Rachel exhausted. “It's one thing breaking into a museum and stealing stuff, it's another breaking into a mansion with high security measures and kidnapping a wounded teenager...”

They had spend the whole last week contemplating their next move. And by the gleam in Grover's eyes, Rachel had the feeling that the man had a plan. She knitted her eyebrows.

“We'll pack. For now”, declared the brunette. “I already brought Juni's and my things with us.”

“What do you mean by packing?”, asked the ginger dumbfounded.

“We'll leave the city, for now. If that's not enough, the continent. We need to get away from them. We need to keep Percy safe”, whispered Grover soothingly. “A member of the police-force knows that Percy is the Black Siren. We'll soon find ourselves in prison if we don't get away.”

“But we also need to get Percy”, hissed the young woman.

“Yeah. One thing at a time”, grunted Grover. “I have a plan for that too. But for now, we need to get the stuff packed. Yours, Percy's, the kids'. Everything else is taken care of.”

Perhaps leaving would be the only option they had left now. That is, if Jason and Nico didn't decide that now was the perfect opportunity to declare their undying love for Percy. Perhaps then they could stay. And she really wanted to stay. They had found some really good friends here. The children liked their school. Besides, Percy really loved those two...

“Oh dear”, mumbled Rachel exhausted and ran a hand through her hair.

 

/break\

 

“What's wrong, babe?”, whispered the young woman concerned.

“I just...”, sighed the brunette opposite of her. “Grover said he will move. He won't be able to work for us anymore and... he also said he won't be able to stay in touch...”

Lou wasn't quite sure what to say to that. She frowned slightly. After all, she knew how dear Grover had grown to both Gardner sisters. And taking a look at the couple standing near the counter, she saw that both were quite sad about this too. Malcolm had one arm wrapped around his wife.

“And did he say why?”, asked Lou and sipped on her coffee.

Miranda shook her head lightly, keeping herself busy by braiding flowers into her hair.

“No. He just said that he had a family emergency and will have to leave because of this”, replied the younger Gardner-sister lowly. “I'll miss him terribly.”

“Ah. But if it's a family emergency, perhaps he'll return once it's settled?”, smiled Lou lightly, trying to cheer her girlfriend up again. “Besides, if something would happen to Katie, you would drop anything to be with her too, right? So just give him some time to work it through.”

“You're probably right”, mumbled Miranda and nodded shortly. “Thank you.”

A small smile spread over her lips as she leaned up to kiss Lou.

“No problem”, smiled Lou back.

“Say, what are you doing here anyway?”, wanted the brunette to know. “Aren't you supposed to run around behind your bosses or something like that?”

“Since Nico took the whole last week off, Bianca got annoyed too and left earlier today, claiming that she will spend the weekend with Miss Thalia”, smiled Lou amused.

“Young love, so sweet”, chuckled Katie from the corner. “But regardless of how sweet it is, you two will stop now because Miranda has to work! Hush now, children!”

 

/break\

 

“Percy”, whispered a soft voice. “Wakey, wakey.”

“Come, Percy”, came another voice. “It's time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

Percy groaned in pain and and blinked exhausted. At first he thought he saw double, but then it hit him. He groaned again and sat up some, frowning slightly.

“Connor? Travis? What am I doing here? And where is here...?”, mumbled Percy confused.

“Sh, no time for explaining”, whispered Connor mischievously. “You need to get up and hurry. Detective Grace went to meet up with Detective la Rue for a coffee and di Angelo is busy talking with their sisters in the other wing of the mansion. Perfect opportunity.”

“Opportunity for what exactly...?”, asked the green-eyed boy now even more confused.

“To get out of here, dimwit”, hissed Travis irritated. “If you haven't noticed, you're a criminal in the house of a cop. Don't you think they'll turn you in as soon as you're fit again?”

“Didn't I say no time for explaining?!”, grunted Connor and rolled his eyes. “Come on!”

He put one of Percy's arms around his neck and Travis got onto the younger thief's other side. The teen opened his mouth to protest a last time, his eyes lingering on the big bed, but then he remembered that this was not about him. It was about the children and Rachel and Grover and Juniper just as much. Nothing would keep them safe now if anything went wrong. That loon who hat shot him, he would try anything to catch them. They needed to get away.

 

/break\

 

“Percy!”, exclaimed Rachel relieved as she wrapped her arms around the teen.

“No fuss”, mumbled Percy and blinked a few times. “I'm alright. Where are we going?”

Grover put a blue New York cap onto the wild, black hair and glared down at Percy. Though his glare, as annoyed as he was, didn't last long for he had been way too worried himself.

“Moron”, whispered the brunette softly and hugged the boy tightly.

“Where do you want to go?”, asked Juniper, hugging the sleeping child in her arms tighter.

Travis smirked broadly, having Tyson sleeping on his bag while his brother had some of their luggage. All of them were wearing casual clothes, nothing to draw attention to themselves, sunglasses to hide their eyes, caps or hats to hide their faces. Thanks to the warm weather, they didn't look out of place like that. Grover took the last pieces of luggage.

“Mh... In the end?”, smirked Percy, taking his own black sunglasses out of the bag Rachel was carrying. “I've always wanted to go to Florida. Always wanted my own pool. And now?”

“Florida fits”, smirked Connor mischievously. “For now, Houston. We have a safe-house there.”

“And how are we going to pay for this? For now doesn't sound like we'll stay long enough to get some money”, mumbled Percy with a frown, looking up at the high building.

“We still got the prize from the last heist”, smirked Rachel and winked.

“Those hideous dog statues? The golden and silver ones with the ruby eyes?”, grunted Percy.

“Yeah. And let's just say... the curator of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was very grateful to have them back”, hummed Grover and licked his lips. “Grateful enough that you may get your pool.”

“Awesome”, grinned Percy broadly. “Ty and Ella are going to love this.”

“But now hurry, we can't miss the plane”, urged Travis on. “Everything else will be planned once we've reached our safe-house and put Percy to rest for another couple of weeks.”

“Rest sounds good”, muttered the teen, feeling a stining pain in his sides. “So, who are we?”

“Zachary and Cody Tipton”, replied Connor, pointing at himself and at his brother, then proceeding to point at Grover and Juniper. “Phil and Crysta Spring”, further pointing at Rachel, him and the children. “Ariel, Eric, Woody and Jessie Pride.”

“So we're posing as siblings?”, murmured Percy, looking up at Rachel.

“Seems that way, little brother”, grinned the redhead. “It's just not that suspicious, traveling with two redheads. We're on our way to a big family-get-together, if anyone asks by the way.”

“All of us?”, grunted Percy disbelieving.

“Distant cousins and all of that”, shrugged Travis bored. “I've seen odder.”

“Well then, let's get to that family-get-together”, hummed the teenager with a frown.

Their little group entered the airport and Percy threw a last, sad glance at the streets of San Francisco. He had learned to like this city. Or was it just because of Nico and Jason...? Too bad they had to leave. But then again, it was for the best. His one-sided interest in the couple would eventually only lead to a broken heart for him anyway. Some distance was good. Houston for now, then Florida. Perhaps Europe or Asia, who knew?


	8. Playing Hide and Seek

_7\. Chapter: Playing Hide and Seek_

 

Jason growled, flexing his hand. Though the movement was stopped as tender fingers wrapped around it, intertwining their fingers while dark, worried eyes looked up at the blonde.

“Let me get those cleaned at least, stubborn idiot”, murmured the CEO irritated.

The policeman shook his head, looking down at their linked hands. His knuckles were still bleeding from their encounter with Percy's former landlord. The dirty, drunk man had said some things concerning their thief's ass that Jason really didn't want to hear from such scum. It had been two days now. Two days since they had last seen their little waiter, since the boy had last laid in their arms, in their bed. But now he was gone. As if he had never existed to begin with.

They had checked everywhere. First, of course, the apartment. Where they had met the charming landlord. Jason had been disgusted and shocked that their thief had lived in such a dirty and tiny place. With two children, a dog and another girl. The apartment was empty, at least of the important stuff like photos, laptop, clothes, toys. No forwarding address, of course. Next stop was the diner, though the unfriendly boss hadn't given them much information either. She had flirted shamelessly with Jason which had nearly led to Nico using his fist if not for the fact that Drew was a woman. Remembering the auburn-haired waitress, they had asked for her. Though it seemed she had quit the same day as Percy. Getting her address from Drew, they left to check, even though they already feared this wouldn't be any good. And it wasn't. The landlord, even though friendlier and less disgusting than Percy's, couldn't give them much information either. Only the store Juniper's husband had been working at. They were a bit surprised to meet Lou and her girlfriend there, but other than that... Not much to get there either. Though the Gardner sisters at least remembered that Grover had said something about catching a flight. And that was where they found themselves now.

“What good is it to be here now?”, grunted Jason with a dark glare.

“E—excuse me”, piped a shy, female voice next to them. “Are you Jason and Nico?”

The petite, female receptionist was looking up at them, blushing slightly. Nico frowned, looking over at his lover. The blonde took another step over to her and nodded shortly.

“How do you know our names?”, asked the policeman suspiciously.

“There aren't that many gorgeous, Italian business men with handsome, blonde sunnyboys coming around here”, giggled the receptionist, blushing darker and searching for something on her desk. “Two days ago, one of our costumers gave me a letter, saying I was to give it to you two and only to you. You see, we normally don't do that. But he was very cute and the children he had been with were crying so I had mercy with him. I have younger siblings too, I know how that is.”

She laughed softly and handed them a blue development. Nico took it and nodded gratefully, both of them quite confused. They left the airport and got into their car before opening it. The blonde leaned over curiously, each of them holding to the letter, the elegant yet sloppy writing indicating that the writer had been quite nervous and in a rush.

_Dear Jason and Nico,_

_I honestly have no idea how to write this or what to write. All I know is: I'm sorry. My crew got me out of your mansion so we could get away. You're a cop, Jason. And responsible for my task-force. It's no good, you're good guys and being associated with me may change that. I'll leave with my crew and I don't expect to ever see you again. Even though I want to. Because I really, really like you. No. I love you. I know it's cowardly that I never told you in person, but I never got the courage. You're both so successful and intimidating and all I am is a petty thief. You're better off without me. It's selfish to burden you with my feelings now, but I needed to get that out so I can have a clear, new start somewhere else. Someplace where I won't have to watch the men I love kissing._

_Love, your Siren_

 

/Houston, Texas\

 

“Mister and Missus Spring, it's always a pleasure to see you. Until next time.”

Juniper smiled politely, tipping her sunglasses in greeting as she and her husband left the store. Her black-dyed hair waved behind her. Grover next to her glared, carrying the groceries.

“You need to stop being so incredibly loveable... Crysta”, hissed Grover annoyed.

“I'm sorry”, smiled Juniper apologetically and blushed a bit. “I'm not good at being impolite.”

“Just let us bring the food home and then stay there”, muttered the new red-head darkly.

They had changed their appearance and their names (even though Grover still found their Disney-covers ridiculous). Even with their dyed hairs, they tried to hide their faces and bodies with casual, yet just too big clothes and sunglasses. At least the weather was in their favors.

“We're home!”, announced Juniper, opening the door of their cozy one-family house.

They had gotten quite cozy in their safe-house in the last two weeks of staying there. Then again, there was not much they could do aside from staying inside and getting cozy. They were on the run, after all. The only ones enjoying themselves were Tyson and Ella, who thought this was a family vacation with their uncles Travis and Connor.

“What took you so long?”, growled the older Stoll brother irritated from the living room.

“Juniper is too friendly with the people”, sighed Grover, carrying the backs into the kitchen.

Rachel was already there waiting for them. She helped them unpacking the groceries.

“We can't leave any kind of impression”, murmured the former redhead, now blonde worried.

“I know, it's just... I'm not used to this life”, sighed Juniper and worried her lips.

“It's not a problem. Just stay inside from now on. Grover, Rachel, Connor and I will take care of the shopping and all. And you will take care of Percy and the kids”, ordered Travis lowly.

“Where are the children?”, asked Juniper curiously, leaving the kitchen. “It's so quiet.”

“Connor took them and went to the park. It's hard being on the run with two children”, sighed Rachel, placing the frozen pizzas in the freezer. “They need to run wild from time to time.”

“Be grateful they stick to the cover names outside because they think it's a game”, grunted Grover.

His wife smiled amused and went upstairs. Travis was probably right, she wasn't a great help here. But then again, it was her first time being on the run. It was strange, she had always led a calm and normal life, until those people had fallen into it. And she had fallen for Grover. Though they were just good friends to her at first, until Percy's nineteenth birthday and their celebration in Las Vegas. Sometimes she still wondered why they had invited her to begin with. Of course, she had soon befriended Percy and it seemed Grover had returned her feelings even back then. But Las Vegas had changed everything. Getting drunk and getting married was what got her into their mess.

“How are you feeling, Percy?”, whispered Juniper softly and entered the bedroom.

But she didn't regret it even one second. Sitting down next to the half-asleep boy in the bed, she grabbed the wet cloth to cool his feverish forehead. They were her family and if she had to change her name and dye her hair and cut all ropes to be with them and protect them, then she would do it.

“I love you... please don't leave me... please, let me stay with you”, murmured the young thief.

Tears were running down his cheeks and she cradled his head in her lap, running her fingers through his hair. Seeing him like that made her heart ache. The infection that had gotten worse.

“Jason, please...”, whimpered Percy, his eyes unfocused and glassy. “Nico, hold me... Miss you...”

“Oh, Percy”, whispered Juniper sadly. “I hope they return your feelings. And I hope they are at least as persistent in their chase for your heart as they were in their chase for your crew.”

Even though Travis, Connor, Grover and Rachel were sure it was saver for them to be away from the cop and the CEO, Juniper knew Percy would have been perfectly safe with them. Perhaps he would even be better since they had taken good care of his injuries.

 

/Los Angeles, California\

 

“Why are we still coming here? I haven't seen Percy in weeks”, grunted Clarisse irritated. “Can't be the coffee, because that is seriously bad. Where is Percy anyway?”

“He left”, muttered Jason with a dark glare. “It seems Rachel has family problems. They left together. But they'll return eventually, once it's settled.”

Once they would catch up with the thieves, they would drag Percy and the others back here. And then they would punish their little thief for running away. After that, they would lock their bedroom and spend at least a whole week naked with Percy and show the teen just how much they loved him.

“Anyway, tell us something new”, grunted Nico irritated. “What's happening?”

“The interns are taking their fucking time”, growled the brunette darkly. “Suppose because they were in the same high school as Simmons. They do that on purpose, playing on time so Simmons gets to arrest the Black Siren and take over completely.”

“We figured that out on our own”, grunted Jason and crossed his arms.

Not that he wanted his job at the moment. He wasn't sure if he could handle that. Arresting their thief. Not now that they finally knew that their little thief loved them back, damn it!

“Yeah, how about something new?”, asked the CEO with furrowed eyebrows.

“They're in Texas. We're unable to narrow it down more at the moment, but they're active around there. There had been a few thefts that fit the scheme. Art, jewelry, ancient crap. A few minor things from museums, the bigger ones from some rich bastards.”

“A few? Then why are you still here?”, asked Jason dumbfounded.

“Because they don't fit completely”, shrugged Clarisse. “You know how it is, they don't want us to interfere. And the trademark announcement letters are missing. They claim it's an imposter, using a blue mask to mess with the press and the police.”

The blonde frowned and turned over to look at Nico. Now knowing that they were in Texas made it easier. But not completely easy. Mostly because Jason wasn't with the police anymore. It cut their resources down. Though they still had time. As long as the task-force didn't get involved. Because he didn't trust Octavian to not kill their little thief.

“Oh damn”, groaned Clarisse as she looked down at her cellphone.

“What is it?”, asked Nico curiously, sipping his coffee.

“It seems there had been a letter”, sighed the brunette and combed her fingers through her hair. “Signed by the Black Siren. The writing and the syntax are just like our letters. It seems I should go, pack my stuff and say good bye to Chris for the next couple of days.”

“Where in Texas?”, asked Nico tensely.

Clarisse stood, looking at them sharply. “You're not allowed to meddle with this.”

“Just asking to know from where you'll send the postcard”, grinned Jason cheekily.

“It seems that will be Houston then”, grunted the policewoman and left them alone.

“What are we supposed to do now, Jay?!”, hissed the Italian nervously. “It that loon shoots him again and we can't take care of him... How are we supposed to protect him now?!”

“Calm down”, murmured Jason slowly. “He managed to take care of himself for all of his life before he met us too. And it seems he's better now. Otherwise they wouldn't send cards.”

“We should have asked her what was written on it”, groaned Nico irritated.

Just in that moment, Jason's phone vibrated and he received a message. Nico frowned at him, though then the phone was shoved his way. A message from Clarisse.

“Don't get caught, morons”, read the blonde slowly, scrolling down to the image attachment.

A photo of a blue card, with Percy's elegant writing. _I miss my old playmates. Come out and play with me. A cat got nine lives, so I suppose I should start purring._

 

/New Orleans, Louisiana\

 

It had taken another two weeks in Houston until Percy had been feeling better again. Travis and Connor had helped Rachel and Grover during their heists while Juniper had taken care of the youngest thief. Though once Percy was better, they decided to move along with their plans. The friends didn't know why Percy still decided to invite the task-force, but that had turned everything upside down. Because Octavian was still part of the task-force. And they were even more furious in their chases. So they parted ways and left. Rachel and Juniper took the kids and Mrs. O'Leary with them to their set final destination, with Grover accompanying them to protect them if anything may come up. He didn't like it, but he knew that Percy was safe with Travis and Connor. He had been safe with them before too. Connor, Travis and Percy stationed themselves in New Orleans, though they made sure to steal in every state at least one thing to send the task-force on a wild goose-chase. They had a small apartment and barely left it at all.

“Okay, my boys”, grinned Percy as he entered the apartment and pushed his sunglasses up. “What do you think? What's on next? Any new jobs for us?”

“Well, I would like to take that diamond being exhibited in the museum we've visited yesterday”, drawled Connor, looking up from his place on the couch.

“No”, glared the younger thief, running a hand through his light brunette hair. “I hate the color.”

“I think you look cute in brunette”, grinned Travis and winked.

“This is the third color in two weeks now”, muttered Percy, pulling on his by now rather long hair so he could properly glare at them. “I'll ruin my hair if we don't get to settle down soon.”

“Yes, well. But we still miss a few states... And how about we go and visit Canada too?”, suggested Connor, pulling Percy down onto the couch next to him. “What is it you _want_?”

“Don't ask stupid questions, brother”, chided Travis with a smirk. “We both know what he wants.”

“Can we stay focused please?”, sighed Percy, his eyes clouding with sadness.

“You're like a cute, little puppy that got thrown out at home and now has to roam the streets, missing his masters”, noted Connor disapprovingly and raised one eyebrow. “Stop it.”

“I'm sorry”, muttered the smaller thief and bit his lips in guilt. “It's just... I miss Nico and Jason and now that we parted ways with the others for their safety, I also miss them... And in my fever dreams I remembered many things from my... childhood... Not... not just the bad things, also the good things... I... I miss mom... There are so many people I miss... Why do I always have to run...?”

He sobbed slightly, tears streaming down against his will. Connor sighed, tightening his grip around Percy's waist while Travis wrapped his arms around the teenager's shoulders, rocking him slightly to calm him down. Percy cried into their chests for another ten minutes before he calmed again.

“So...”, started Travis in a soft tone, trying to lighten the mood. “How about we take that stupid painting from this rich prick in Seattle? You said the original owners had contacted you.”

“Yeah, it belonged to a Jewish family before the second World War, the current owner is the son of an SS officer, who kept the treasures to themselves”, whispered Percy and nodded, rubbing his eyes to get rid of his stupid tears, annoyed at them. “I want to take it and give it to the woman that contacted me. She said it's the only thing she remembers from her parents' house. I... I want her to get this memory of her parents back...”

“Let me guess, no money for us?”, sighed Connor with a slight pout. “Charity case again, eh?”

“I want to help her”, murmured Percy, turning very wide, begging eyes on them. “Please?”

“As if we could deny you, stupid runaway pup”, snorted Travis, ruffling his hair. “You know you'll always have a home wherever we live. And we will always help you.”

“Even though it will be for charity and not for ourselves”, added Connor still pouting.

“I love you guys”, grinned Percy and kissed both Stolls on their cheeks. “We're family.”

 

/Los Angeles, California\

 

“What am I doing here?”

“Helping us so we may finally finish this stupid bed”, muttered the Latino back.

“But I got a boyfriend waiting for me who is probably bored out of his mind because I have to do extra shifts so we can build this. Why are we doing that?”, complained the other again.

“Jake, stop being a whiny baby”, chided a beautiful blonde woman amused. “I bring food.”

She entered the garage, bringing a plate with sandwiches with her. The three men and the young woman in the garage looked up with bright smiles on their faces upon seeing their friend.

“Silena, love! Thank you, we completely forgot about lunch...”, chuckled Charles with a blush.

“I know”, smirked his long-time girlfriend amused. “I know my boys and girls. Now come. Sit down, take a break, eat something and explain why in the world there is a gigantic bed in here.”

The four tinkerers sat down at the table together with Silena, everyone grabbing a slice of bread.

“Because Nico and Jason pay damn much money for us to do this”, shrugged Nyssa. “I don't even want to know why they want those hooks at the headboard and why it's that extremely huge, but it earns us more than one month of fixing cars.”

“This bed looks big enough to hold an orgy in”, grunted Leo. “Not that I would know. In fact, I think I forgot what sex feels like at all. It had been three months since I last saw Reyna!”

“Anyone feeling bad for him? No? Me neither”, snorted Nyssa amused.

“Yeah. I mean, it's her job. That's what you get for getting a cop as a girlfriend”, added Jake.

“Where are Nico and Jason anyway?”, asked Silena curiously and worried. “I haven't seen them in days. And neither have the other girls. Not even Thalia or Bianca have heard from them...”

Everybody shrugged, aside from Leo who blushed, averted his eyes and took a big bite.

“Valdez, you are the worst liar on this planet. What do you know?”, grunted Nyssa irritated.

“I'm not supposed to tell you! Reyna told me after I told her Jason and Nico disappeared and she said I need to keep it a secret or otherwise I will never have sex with her again. And those three freaking months are driving me crazy enough as it is”, whined the Latino with a pout.

“What. Do. You. Know?”, growled Jake threateningly.

“Leo, seriously. We're all family. You know we're all worried for them”, said Charles disappointed.

“They're...”, started Leo and sighed before leaning back some, biting his lips. “Promise not to tell?”

“You know we won't, dimwit”, snorted Nyssa and rolled her eyes.

“We just want to know where they are and if they're safe”, whispered Silena, fully worried mother.

“Okay. But I can't tell you everything, because that is really, really, really not my secret to tell”, sighed the Latino and nodded, accepting his fate. “You remember Percy?”

“Sure, the cute boy from the diner?”, smiled Silena approvingly. “Nico got taste.”

“And you remember how he just disappeared four months ago?”, asked Leo.

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with it?”, asked Nyssa confused.

“They're tracking him down”, continued the Latino. “Because they are stupid morons that fell in love with him. And they're finally having a lead, so they followed it.”

“Wait, so you mean Nico succeeded and made Jason fall for his little obsession?”, grinned Nyssa.

“And now they're on their way to make him theirs”, sighed Silena dreamily. “How romantic.”

“But where are they at the moment?”, pushed Charles a little irritated.

“Yeah. And why do they have to track him down to begin with? Didn't he leave an address or anything and what about his cellphone?”, asked Jake suspiciously.

“Was it because of that stalker?”, asked Silena worried, biting her lips, though then the dreamy look took over again. “Oh, Jason and Nico get to rescue him! That's even more romantic...”

“Yeah, sure”, nodded Leo, would be better to leave it at that. “And they're in Jacksonville, Florida.”

 

/DeBary, Florida\

 

“Mister and Miss Donovan-Gilbert, may I bring you to your table?”, smiled the waiter. “Mister Saltzman and Miss Sommers are already waiting for you.”

Percy grinned, shifting Ella on his arm slightly, looking over at Rachel, who had Tyson at her hand.

“You think we left... Matt and Sara waiting for long, Kayla?”, whispered Percy amused.

“I don't think so, Steven”, chuckled amused, grinning. “Besides we would have been on time if our neighbors wouldn't have hold us off like that.”

“Those two girls kind of creep me out”, muttered Percy with a slight frown. “I feel like they're stalking me. I swear they took photos of me last time I took a swim in the ocean. And they're always there when I leave the house. Perhaps they're from a letter-organization.”

“Don't be paranoid”, chided Rachel. “It's unhealthy. And I don't think they're after us.”

Half way on their way to the table where Juniper and Grover were waiting, a waitress ran up to them and touched Percy's arm. The once again black-haired (though with many different blue streaks) teen blinked surprised and turned to her.

“E—Excuse me, but are you Steven Gilbert?”, asked the waitress and blushed.

Their waiter was still slowly leading the way and Rachel followed her reluctantly, frowning at Percy and the waitress curiously and worried. What would she want from Percy?

“Yes, that's who I am”, nodded Percy slowly. “Why? Is something the matter?”

“There are a... Mister Salvatore and a Mister Mikaelson requesting your presence. They say you know them from... Los Angeles? And they would like for you to join them in the backroom.”

The teen stiffened and frowned confused. Los Angeles? Who could that be? Salvatore and Mikaelson. His brain froze and he slowly sat Ella down, patting her head.

“Nina, you go with Kayla and Zach, tell Kayla I will follow soon and not to worry, got it?”

“Telling daddy you will come, yes, mommy”, nodded Ella obediently and ran off.

Percy aimed a strained smile at the waitress and followed her away from his friends, from his family. To two strangers who most likely knew exactly who he was. Otherwise they wouldn't use the same naming pattern as Percy and his crew were at the moment. But something in the back of his mind kept him calm, told him this was alright. Even though he had no idea why.

“Salvatore, sounds familiar. Is he a celebrity, Mister Donovan-Gilbert?”, muttered the waitress.

“Ah, no”, mumbled Percy hastily and shook his head. “Just Salvador Dalí you're remembering.”

“Mh... Perhaps I'm messing that up, yes”, nodded the waitress. “Ah, we're there!”

She opened the door to the private rooms of the restaurant and bar. It was only dimly lid and he had a hard time seeing anything at all. But he still entered. The closing of the heavy door felt like a complete cut-off. The noises of the bar outside were drowned out, the light from the hallway, the waitress. He felt like walking into a lion's den. There were two silhouettes, two men sitting at a table. The light from the only lamp in the room illuminating them from behind, making it impossible for Percy to see who they were. A flash of golden hair send a jolt of panic through his being. Luke? Were those Luke and Ethan? Did they track him down? He thought they had lost Luke in Torronto and Ethan in Seattle. Or had it been Jacksonville..? Yeah, Jacksonville. They had parted ways with the Stolls there, the brothers promising to distract the other two thieves.

“What... What do you want?”, asked Percy, fear dripping from his voice, slowly taking a step back and reaching for the door knob with his hands. “You know my crew is nearby.”

“It had been hard to find you”, chuckled the blonde. “You may call us Daniel and Ian or Mister Mikaelson and Mister Salvatore, for the time being, if that makes you more comfortable, Steven.”

“Though it won't matter much since you're coming with us, Percy”, smirked the other man.

That was the last thing he remembered before the two men came to him and everything went black.


	9. Playing Dirty

_8\. Chapter: Playing Dirty_

 

Percy groaned in pain. His... everything hurt, though he wasn't sure why. He tried to rub his eyes, but failed. Frowning slightly, he looked up. His hands were cuffed to the bedframe. The bedframe of a bed. Percy blinked again and took a look around. Yes, he was laying on a bed. Naked. He was naked and cuffed to a bed. As if this day hadn't been bad enough when it had started with his two stalker neighbors. What had happened, anyway? Groaning slightly, he squinted his eyes shut and tried to concentrate. He and Rachel had been on their way to the restaurant to meet up with Grover and Juniper... And then... A waitress, right. She came up to him and... Two men, who had discovered them. A blonde and a black-haired one, but Percy had only seen their silhouettes and the shining of their hair in the faint light of the dark room. Then... he had lost consciousness.

“It looks like our little siren is awake”, chuckled an amused voice from the doorway.

Percy panicked, pulling his legs up as far as possible to hide himself. The blonde and the black-haired man... Were they... Ethan and Luke? Finally catching up with him to give him what he deserved in their opinion? His heart raced and he felt like hyperventilating.

“Percy? Percy, calm down”, murmured a soft voice next to him.

He felt the mattress dip and fingers running through his hair. Now that the voice was closer, it sounded more familiar. And the fingers felt familiar too. But not frightening-familiar, but rather... comforting-familiar? The waiter blinked slowly to look up.

“Ni—ico?!”, exclaimed the thief shocked. “What...”

“Good morning, sunshine”, chuckled another voice, slowly coming closer.

“And Jason?!”, yelped Percy, completely confused. “What is... happening here...? What...?”

“Well, we were fishing and we caught ourselves a siren”, smirked the cop.

Jason sat down on Percy's other side, leaning against the headboard, his legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. He looked completely relaxed, as if this was an average day experience to him. Percy started to feel even more uncomfortable.

“Why am I naked and tied to a bed and where are we?!”, growled the thief, flustered but equally annoyed, glaring at the cop. “What in the world is going on here?!”

The fingers running through his hair wandered down, along his neck and shoulder to skip over his chest, curiously circling his nipples. The teen blushed furiously. The men smirked confidently.

“You left us a letter when you disappeared, Percy”, hummed Nico and got more comfortable, laying down on his stomach to fold his arms on Percy's stomach and rest his chin on them. “We found it.”

“And we read it”, added Jason with a chuckle, though then he turned to glare at the teen. “And we greatly disapproved of you running away after such a confession.”

“I—I...”, started Percy, but then he averted his eyes to stare at the pillow. “Okay, okay. I ran away. But that's not a reason to be this cruel. Now untie me, you've had your fun.”

“Oh, but our fun hasn't even started yet”, smirked Jason and licked his lips.

He put his hand beneath Percy's chin to lift the boy's gaze. But what he saw was not what he expected. Tears were gathering in the corners of the beautiful, sea-green depths and an angered glare was thrown at him. The blonde backed off some.

“Is it fun for you to see me squirm like that?”, spat the teen hurt. “Fun that a stupid thief was dumb enough to fall for you?! It's hard enough to see you two together, do you have to mock me?!”

“Percy”, whispered Nico dumbfounded and lifted his head a bit. “We're not mocking you.”

The Italian businessman sat up and stared down at their captured thief. Frowning at the look on the boy's face, he turned to lock eyes with his lover. The blonde looked equally startled.

“Percy”, sighed the cop, turning his full attention onto the teen. “Look at me. Come on.”

The waiter obeyed reluctantly and turned to look into those sky-blue eyes. “W... What?”

“Is it really that hard for you to believe that we like you back?”, murmured the blonde.

“Why should you?”, snorted Percy with guarded eyes. “You're successful, you have each other... Why should you want someone who'll only mean trouble for you?”

The answer Nico had for him was a simple one. Sea-green eyes widened as firm lips pressed against his. His blush darkened while the CEO nibbled on Percy's lower lip.

“Because you're a better thief than you give yourself credit for”, murmured Jason into his ear. “You managed to steal both of our hearts. Not the same way perhaps, my cute thief, but you did it nonetheless. That's why we were greatly relieved to learn that my cute thief and his cute waiter were in fact one and the same. And to learn that you felt the same way made us very, very happy. But then you ran away, leaving us alone with that happiness. Not a very nice thing to do, Percy.”

Though Percy was too busy staring at him doe-eyed to really register what exactly the blonde wanted from him. What the police detective had just said... couldn't be true. Not in a million years. But the fact that the Italian's lips had wandered down to suck on Percy's pulse (which was quite quicker than usually, mind you) was screaming the opposite.

“What... I... What?”, mumbled the teen, starting to feel a bit dizzy. “Eh?”

“You're being very eloquent today, Percy”, chuckled the blonde amused, cupping the thief's cheek.

“If you don't want to mock me... Why am I... Oh.”

His facial color changed to that of a tomato and his eyes widened comically. Jason laughed amused at the adorable expression on their thief's face. He couldn't withstand the urge to lean down and capture those rosy lips in a kiss of their own. Nico, all the while, trailed tender kisses along Percy's collar bone, occasionally sucking and biting to leave a mark.

“Yes, oh”, breathed Jason against kiss-swollen lips once they parted. “You will be properly punished for running away from us, little thief.”

“P—Properly punished?”, squealed Percy, once more blushing.

A very girly yelp escaped his lips as he felt fingers at his entrance. If possible, his facial color darkened even more. Nico smirked at him wickedly while teasing his sensitive hole.

“Oh yes, properly punished”, smirked the Italian, sitting up some, his fingers trailing up the teen's thigh, erecting a shudder from the waiter. “As long as you want it, of course.”

“Eh...?”, blinked the thief confused, tilting his head at the couple.

Jason and Nico chuckled amused and sat down in front of Percy. That was when the teen noticed that both men were just as naked as he was. Well, not as naked. Each had a towel wrapped around their waists, both their hair damp, a few drops of water exploring their muscular bodies in a downward journey. Percy licked his lips, wanting nothing more than to lick those drops of water off their strong chests, down the dips of their abs. Delicious.

“Percy, you wrote that you love us. And we do have you at our mercy at the moment”, started Jason, looking at the teen with a soft smile. “But we want to hear it from you first.”

“We won't do anything to you, not as long as we're not sure that you want it”, murmured Nico, his hand resting on Percy's knee. “Even though there are many, many things we would love to do with you, we won't do anything you don't want. So tell us... What do you want...?”

“You”, blurted Percy out without missing a beat.

His fast answer was followed by an intense blush and two very loud chuckles. Jason leaned in to kiss him softly onto the lips and ruffle his hair, while Nico took the place between Percy's spread legs. The green-eyed male moaned into the kiss as he felt the CEO caressing both his thighs.

“That's cute”, grinned the blonde. “And believe me, we want you too. That's why we followed your trail for months, until we finally found you. And now that we have you... We will never let you run off like that again. Even if we have to keep you tied to this bed.”

“Well... it's a pretty nice bed”, drawled Percy, his blush deepening. “Where are we?”

“Your fever must have been too high for you to remember it”, murmured Jason, worry flashing through his sky-blue eyes at the memory of their delirious thief. “But you've been here before. When we took care of you. This is our bedroom, Percy.”

“Wow, you guys really live... wow”, hummed the waiter impressed, gaping at everything.

“We, stupid”, corrected Nico amused, leaning closer to place a tender kiss on Percy's nose. “Or do you think we will let you live in this shitty apartment again?”

“Uh... Can we pretty please start with the sex before we get to the moving together part...?”, asked Percy slightly awkward, blushing again. “I want my punishment before my treat.”

“You are incredibly cute”, chuckled the Italian, his lips finding Percy's in a soft kiss.

“So!”, exclaimed Jason suddenly, smirking wickedly. “Your punishment. Nico, if you'd please?”

“I would love to”, grinned Nico, grabbing something from the nightstand.

“What are you---Oh my god, oh my goodness!”, gasped Percy surprised.

Wide sea-green eyes stared at the thick, blue vibrator in the CEO's hand. The couple laughed satisfied with that reaction, Nico finding his way back between the spread legs.

“We want you well-prepared, love”, grinned the cop.

The Italian circled the soft hole tenderly, joined by Jason's fingers. Percy yelped slightly embarrassed at being touched by them like this, though once the two started to teasingly push into him, his yelps turned into loud moans. The fingers within him massaged his sensitive walls, causing him to buck his hips in desire. He tugged on his bounds, whimpering in want.

“Please, stop teasing”, gasped the teen.

“You're very eager”, chuckled Jason amused, kissing Percy's inner thigh.

The thief had his legs widely spread, Jason paying much attention to the boy's thighs while Nico teasingly licked Percy's shaft up and down. The waiter had his eyes closed in bliss.

“You have no idea how hard it is to find a free minute to jerk off if you're living together with two children and five friends”, grunted the black-haired boy with a pout. “So please, okay?”

“Poor little thief”, smirked Nico, wrapping his lips around the head of Percy's member.

Percy gasped at the warm, wet contact, licking his own lips. Jason smirked, scissoring the teen's entrance with the help of his long-time boyfriend. With his other hand, he pushed the thick vibrator into the waiting hole. A sinful sound escaped the teens lips. While Nico bobbed his head, teasing the slit with his tongue, Jason started to fuck their thief with the vibrator. Percy whimpered at the stimulation of both his member and his prostate, pulling on his bonds. With the long time of abstinence, it didn't take Percy long to reach his orgasm. Nico cupped the teen's balls, caressing the underside while deep-throating the boy's member. With a loud scream on his lips, the green-eyed teen came, his hot seed filling Nico's mouth. The Italian grinned satisfied as he sat up, Jason grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him in for a passionate kiss. Both men were licking their lips once they parted, looking with predatory eyes at the thief.

“That was a nice punishment”, grinned Percy stupidly, panting hard.

“That wasn't the punishment, Percy”, smirked the blonde, turning the vibrator to the highest level.

“Oh gods”, moaned the waiter, throwing his head back. “What are you doing to me?!”

The CEO grabbed the teen's hips hard and turned him swiftly over onto his stomach. Percy looked up at his tied-up wrists, crossed though thanks to the long bonds not uncomfortable. It seemed those two had planned this evening for a while now. Though seeing as they had chased him for months, they did have enough time to plan this thoroughly.

“We will completely knock you out, Perce”, growled Nico hungrily, licking his lips, his breath ghosting over Percy's neck. “And now get onto your knees, pretty boy.”

“Okay”, nodded the teen reluctantly, shivering at the constant stimulation of his prostate.

The blonde pushed the vibrator deeper into the tightness of their thief, sitting down comfortably on Percy's right side, Nico taking his seat on Percy's other side. Both watching the giddy wiggling of Percy's hips and that perfectly shaped ass.

“Are you going to do something? Anything?”, groaned Percy hoarsely.

“We are going to punish you, my little thief”, growled Jason into his ear.

Before Percy could repeat his question, he felt a stinging pain in his right ass-cheek. Wide, sea-green eyes looked surprised over his shoulder at the cop. The blonde smirked broadly, his hand still resting on Percy's butt. A bright blush spread over his cheeks at that.

“Pu—unish?!”, squealed the thief. “L... Like _that_?!”

His question was answered by a hard slap to his left cheek. His blush darkened some more as he looked at Nico in shock. The CEO grinned like a cat that just ate the canary.

“Be a good, little thief and stay put while we punish you properly for running away”, murmured the Italian, kissing Percy's shoulder-blades. “Don't worry, you'll enjoy it.”

“I'm not so sure about that”, murmured the flustered teen skeptically.

“And if not, you'll get two very hard treats once we're through with this”, grinned Jason.

“Now that sounds good”, grinned Percy back. “Well, continue then! The sooner this will be over, the sooner I'll finally get you two! And believe me, I can't wait for _that_!”

“Believe us, neither can we”, chuckled Nico. “Jason? It's your turn.”

The blonde's big hand came down on Percy's ass again, though this time a bit harder. Percy felt uncomfortable, sitting there so exposed, still with the vibrator up his ass. But the longer he stayed like this, the longer his two lovers kept spanking him, the more he enjoyed it. He lost track on who was currently spanking him, but the stinging hits send jolts of pleasure right to his cock, already rock-hard again from his lovers' touch. He whimpered and begged for mercy.

“You are very hard to deny when you're begging like that”, noted Jason, licking his lips.

“I think it's been enough”, grunted Nico, staring down at his own painful erection.

“Yes”, whimpered Percy, nodding in agreement. “Please, please fuck me!”

The CEO grinned and leaned down, placing a soft kiss on the heated, dark red skin of Percy's ass. The thief mewled at the contact and the Italian chose that moment to remove the vibrator from within the tightness they wanted to claim as their own now. Percy whimpered at the loss.

“Lay down and relax, babe”, grinned the cop like a hungry predator. “We are going to fill you with something so much better now, my little thief.”

Percy nodded and obeyed, laying down on his side, hissing as some of his sore skin touched the bed. Jason smirked at that, cupping the sensitive cheek to part them. The waiter whimpered at that.

“Serves you right for being such a tease, Perseus”, grunted Nico with a slight glare. “Months!”

The Italian snorted slightly and lifted Percy's one leg to place it on his shoulders, his other hand grabbing the bottle of lube on their nightstand. He poured a good amount onto his own member before passing it over to his boyfriend, who then proceeded to do the same.

“Just look how demandingly it's twitching”, snickered Jason a bit amused. “Can't wait for a cock.”

“Or two”, grinned Nico, slowly nearing the pink, loosened hole.

“Oh gods”, moaned Percy in anticipation as he realized what exactly his lovers had planned. “Yes!”

“Well, at least he agrees”, chuckled the blonde. “We should give him what he wants.”

“I absolutely agree, love”, nodded the CEO and leaned over to kiss the cop.

Both their lubed cocks pressed against the loosened entrance of the thief. Percy shuddered at first at the contact of the cold lube, though then he shuddered even more, moaning lustfully. Their heads teased the teen's hole until the boy was a whimpering, begging mess.

“Please”, mewled the black-haired boy. “Please, please fuck me already!”

“Not that we could wait that much longer”, grinned Nico as they finally pushed in.

All three of them gave a strangled sound as they were united at last. Jason and Nico had never shared a tight ass before and Percy had never enjoyed two cocks at once. The full, stretched feeling was incredible, the thief was sure he had never felt anything as pleasant and he instantly knew that he definitely had to repeat this over and over again. The two older males growled at feeling their boyfriend's member pulsing next to them in the extreme tightness of their thief.

“Fuck, you feel so good”, groaned Nico, grabbing Percy's member in an iron-grip, making the boy whimper again. “So much better than anything I had pictured in the past months!”

“Agreed”, moaned Jason, leaning down to kiss Percy's neck, biting it hard.

“Oh fuck, please”, gasped the thief, baring his neck some more.

“You don't have to say please, we are already fucking you”, grinned the CEO.

Their cocks slid deeper into the tight heat, building a rhythm where at least one member was constantly hitting the bundle of nerves that made Percy scream their names. Nico fisted the teen's cock harshly, aiming for Percy's second orgasm. Though the teen tried to delay it as long as possible, the movement of his lovers feeling way too good to end it.

“God, I love you”, breathed Nico against his lips, one hand twirling a hard, rosy nipple, the other still jerking Percy off. “And I can't wait to fuck you. Every. Single. Night.”

The promise of many more passionate nights broke Percy's restrains and the thief came hard, though the Italian reacted fast, catching nearly all cum with his hand. The boy's channels cramped down on their cocks, both men increasing their thrusts. Nico held onto Percy for support, smearing the boy's cum over his thighs. The police detective was the first to follow their thief, ejaculating deep within the teen. The warmth of his boyfriend's cum, the contorting of the thief's tight channels, soon made Nico come too, the Italian also filling Percy's ass.

“That was a great punishment”, grinned the green-eyed boy, licking his lisp.

Jason chuckled, grabbing the vibrator to plug Percy's ass once both of them pulled out again. Percy yelped slightly and glared up at the blonde. Though his attention was drawn down to Nico all too soon again as the Italian was busy licking the cum off Percy's thigh, kissing and biting the boy. The blonde collapsed to lay behind Percy, one hand fishing for the keys of the cuffs to free the thief. Once the cuffs were opened and laid down on the nightstand, Jason turned his attention to the boy's back in front of him. Though not for long as Percy hastily turned to lay on his back, his bangs covering his eyes. Jason frowned slightly, pulling on Nico's hair.

“Ouch, what did you do that for?”, growled the Italian annoyed, sitting up to glare.

Jason nodded into the direction of their thief, who shifted a bit. Nico frowned, laying down on Percy's other side, running his fingers through the soft hair.

“You know you don't have to hide your scars. We've seen them before”, whispered the Italian.

Percy stiffened some, turning his face so he didn't have to look at the older male. Jason traced the scar from the shot-wound, guilt flashing through his sky-blue eyes.

“I should have pushed Simmons down the building”, growled the blonde, kissing the round scar.

“It wasn't your fault, Jason”, murmured Percy softly, turning reluctantly to rest his head on Nico's chest. “You're a cop, your job is not to protect criminals.”

“But it's my duty to protect the ones I love”, murmured the detective.

“We... also know where you got your other scars”, whispered Nico, wrapping his arms around Percy's waist to pull him closer. “We know about your stepfather.”

Percy hid his face in the crook of Nico's neck, his eyes tightly closed. Jason wrapped his arms around Percy's waist from behind, kissing the teen's neck softly.

“You know, it's admirable that you took care of your little brother like that”, whispered Jason.

“Someone had to”, muttered Percy. “And I would have never left him with this monster.”

“You know, there are still some questions left”, said the blonde. “But not now.”

“Not now?”, repeated the teen confused, craning his neck to look at Jason.

“No”, grinned Nico. “Because now, we are just going to enjoy the fact that we captured you all to ourselves. That you're finally ours and in our bed.”

“I like that”, grinned Percy and nodded.

“So you're fine staying with us?”, chuckled the Italian amused. “Aren't you worried about your siblings and your crew, Percy?”

“Trav and Con are certainly going to keep a close eye on my family... They'll be fine for a little while longer... So... let us cuddle...”, grinned the black-haired teen, before getting more serious again. “But not long. Tomorrow morning and we'll return to them!”

“Agreed”, nodded his two lovers.

 

/break\

 

“Fuck you, Stoll. Both of you.”

“No, Castellan”, growled Travis angered, leaning down until they were nose to nose. “Fuck you. Where is he? We know you have something to do with this! Underwood called us earlier and said Percy disappeared after two mysterious guys wanted to talk to him.”

“If one of you hurt him, we are going to skin you two alive”, sneered Connor annoyed.

The two Stolls circled two chairs, tied together at the backrests. On one chair sat Ethan Nakamura, on the other sat Luke Castellan, both tied up. The room was only lit by moon shining through the window. The two stalkers glared up at the other two thieves annoyed.

“We have no idea where he is”, grunted Ethan irritated. “We've been searching for him too!”

“Odd. I don't believe you”, snorted Travis. “What about you, brother?”

“Neither do I. But I think I know someone who may be able to get them to talk”, smirked Connor.

 

/break\

 

“Where is my husband? Where. Is. He?”, growled the brunette detective irritated.

Reyna and Frank looked up at her, smirking broadly. Reyna pointed over to Kinzie and Hylla.

“Your husband is with the boss. Who is very grateful”, chuckled Hylla amused.

Clarisse pushed past them, watching how her husband shook her boss' hands. Chris turned to her and smiled softly, walking over to hug and kiss her. Though she glared instead.

“Are you insane?”, hissed the brunette. “You're our informer! Doing this on your own was dangerous! How did you even find Castellan and Nakamura?! We've been searching for them for years now, but they kept slipping away whenever we were in reach!”

He leaned down to whisper into her ear. “If you believe it or not, but I found them on my doorstep this morning. They were gagged and tied-up. And this was pinned to Castellan's forehead.”

He pushed a letter to her. Clarisse frowned confused, though then glaring as breath ghosted over her neck. Reyna grinned over her shoulder sheepishly, Clarisse rolled her eyes and opened it.

“We know you'll take good care of those two xoxo, Black Siren”, read the brunette surprised.

“Why should one thief hand over another thief?”, asked Frank confused.

Clarisse blinked as she saw that all her friends had gathered around her. There was something akin to recognition flashing through Reyna's eyes and Clarisse glared at her.

“What do you know, Avila Ramírez-Arellano?”, asked the brunette sharply.

Reyna sighed and took a look around, seeing as neither their boss nor Octavian were near, she motioned for her friends to come closer. Kinzie and Frank hit their heads.

“Ethan Nakamura is the same Ethan as Percy's stalker”, whispered Reyna.

“But what does that have to...”, started her sister with a frown. “Oh.”

“Well, Percy did disappear the same time as the Black Siren left San Francisco. And it would explain why a thief would hand another thief out”, drawled Kinzie curiously.

“And it would also explain why Jason was so content with being off the task-force... He's... protecting Percy... The boy they had been crushing on for forever now”, grunted Frank.

“Well”, smirked Clarisse. “Then we should press Castellan and Nakamura for some answers.”


	10. Playing Cops and Robbers

_9\. Chapter: Playing Cops and Robbers_

 

Percy smiled satisfied as he woke up. For the first time in what must have been years he had slept through the whole night without waking up even once. No dog barking because she wanted to go outside, no Rachel returning from a night shift, no Ella or Tyson being scared and coming to his bed during a thunderstorm or after a nightmare and most importantly, no nightmares. Not about his mother's death or his stepfather or anything. He snuggled closer to the warmth, the drum of the heartbeat beneath his ear reassuring him that the last night had not been a dream. He still decided to open his eyes and take a look. Just to make sure. The first thing he saw was a well-defined sixpack. His fingers moved on their own to trace it while he lifted his head a bit to look into the sleeping face of Nico, resting his head on the other side of Jason's chest. The blonde had one of his arms wrapped around Nico's waist and one around Percy's. It seemed both of them were still deep asleep. The thief grinned broadly. They had done it about four times or something, of course they were out cold. That much for knocking him out. Grinning slightly, he sneaked out from the tight embrace. Once in front of the bed, he took a moment to marvel at the amazing view. Nico and Jason, both naked, sweat still glittering on their skin while they slept peacefully. He really could get used to that.

“Time to explore the castle of my princes”, grinned the thief and wriggled his nose.

He stretched a bit and tip-toed out of the bedroom, closing the door as silent as possible.

 

/break\

 

The first thing Jason noticed when he woke up in the morning was that something was missing. His sky-blue eyes opened wide to scan his surroundings, his cop-instinct kicking in right away. First thing, as every morning, was Nico. The CEO still laid cuddled next to him, hiding his face under his arms to keep the sun away. Jason grinned slightly and leaned down to place a kiss on his boyfriend's head. That's when he noticed. There was no weight on his other shoulder. He frowned, turning to look if perhaps Percy had rolled over in his sleep, unused to having someone cuddling him.

“Nico, wake up. Percy's gone”, demanded the cop a bit irritated.

“Then get him back”, murmured the sleepy CEO. “Wait. What does gone mean?”

The Italian sat up, rubbing his eyes. His hair pointed wildly into every possible direction, he still looked totally sleepy and had a smear of cum on his chin. Jason chuckled amused.

“I don't know what it means. Considering he's a thief, he could be anywhere”, snorted the blonde a bit annoyed. “Perhaps he sneaked out completely to get back to his family. Or he went to steal a little something. Or he just got lost on his way to the toilet.”

“Well, then better find him before he gets himself into trouble”, declared Nico and stood.

He pulled the other man along to go and search for their lover. This was not how the Italian had pictured their first morning of having their thief with them. He growled a little grumpily and pulled Jason along through the halls. Perhaps Percy was waiting for them in the shower? Unlikely, the teen didn't know when they'd wake up... Or... His train of thoughts got interrupted by laughing voices coming from the kitchen. He frowned and locked eyes with his boyfriend. The blonde shrugged, motioning for his lover to continue their way. What they saw when they entered the kitchen was first a pleasant surprise, then an unexpected shock and ended in utter embarrassment.

“Good god, get dressed! No one wants to see that!”

That was not Percy's voice. A very bad feeling crept up Nico's spine. Blinking a few times, he hoped the picture would change. It did not. So he hurriedly covered his privates and blushed.

Starting with the pleasant surprise – Percy in a short and skanky dress he remembered Thalia wearing a couple of days ago. The unexpected shock would be Thalia. Well, Thalia alone maybe not so much. But Thalia with Bianca on her lap, chewing on a croissant while conversing with Hazel, who sat opposite her and held hands with Frank. This would also cover the utter embarrassment. Due to the fact that both, Nico and Jason, had spend way too much time chasing Percy, they had promised their sisters a family breakfast today. And completely forgotten about it...

“Good morning to you too, sis”, grunted Jason a bit irritated (though still blushing brightly).

“You three could have tuned it down a bit, you know”, grunted the singer displeased. “Bibs and I came home late after the concert and I would have appreciated a couple hours of sleep.”

“Percy. Come”, grunted the blonde, glaring at his sister.

The crossdressing teen blinked confused, but obeyed. “See you later, girls. Frank.”

Percy frowned as he followed the men back to the bedroom. Jason had gone all gloomy all of a sudden. Though it seemed Nico was too busy staring at Percy's ass to notice anything.

“Why are you wearing Thalia's dress?”, asked the CEO after a while.

“Well...”, started the thief and blushed. “I woke up before sunrise. Kind of used to it, with the shifts at the diner and the kids... But you two were still sleeping, so I thought I'd take a look around... And then I accidentally stumbled over your sisters doing it in the kitchen... I was naked, they were naked, we all were embarrassed. Anyway, since I didn't want to go back to your room and accidentally wake you, I borrowed some clothes from Thals. And then we sat down together in the kitchen and made breakfast. Frank and Hazel joined us later on. Why is Jason so grumpy?”

“Because”, hissed the blonde, grabbing Percy's wrists to whirl them around and press the teen against the wall. “You just sat down there, having breakfast with a cop.”

“Uh... You're a cop too and we did way more than eating breakfast last night”, pointed Percy out, blushing under the intense stare of those sky-blue eyes. “What's the problem?”

“The problem”, growled the cop, tightening his grip on Percy's wrists, pinning him against the wall with his whole, naked body. “Is that I don't want to arrest you, idiot! What if he notices?”

“So it is true, after all”, chuckled a female voice behind them.

“You owe me five bucks, Valdez. You really should have more faith in me and your fiance.”

Jason froze wide-eyed and turned around slowly. Behind him stood Reyna, Clarisse, Leo and Chris. While the two women looked pretty smug, the Latino was looking a bit grumpy. And Chris was shocked. The two naked men tried to comprehend what just had happened. That the two task-force members now knew the identity of their thief. Though they got distracted as Chris pushed past them and grabbed Percy to pull him away. Three jealous screams echoed after them.

“It's been you the whole time”, hissed Chris a bit irritated. “The one Travis and Connor tried to protect. You're the reason they sold Castellan and Nakamura out, aren't you?”

“Oh. You're Rodriguez. _The_ Rodriguez. Damn, they told me so much about you!”, yelped Percy with wide fanboy eyes, their green color sparkling in excitement.

“Don't get doe-eyed over my man, Jackson”, warned Clarisse as the others caught up to them.

“Can we get back to the part where you know about--”, started Jason irritated.

He and Nico stepped up to their thief, coming to stay on either side of Percy, wrapping their arms possessively and protectively around the teen, glaring dangerously at the two women.

“How about you get dressed and showered and we meet for breakfast and a very long and very good explanation then?”, chuckled Reyna softly.

“I second that. I really don't like that everybody is seeing you two naked”, grumbled Percy a bit jealous, crossing his arms over his chest. “And I would really appreciate a shower.”

The Italian snickered a little amused at the jealous gleam in those sea-green eyes. He liked that. It meant that they meant something to their thief. He guided his lovers through the halls and past the police women. The way their friends had looked at them, he didn't suspect Brunner and an armed force welcoming them once they'd be out of the shower. He frowned down at the blonde's hand on their thief's waist, nearly clawed into the boy's skin in an attempt to hold him close.

“Jason, calm down. You're hurting him”, chided the Italian.

“He's not hurting me”, grunted Percy a bit irritated. “I'm used to worse.”

Jason flinched, his hand falling off the teen as if he had burned it. The teen blinked a bit confused at him while Nico opened the door to their bedroom. Once inside, the Italian ushered both his lovers through the connecting door into the biggest and most awesome bathroom Percy had ever seen.

“I totally approve of this”, muttered the thief in awe, caressing the black tiles.

It was impressive, wide space with black and dark blue tiles. A jacuzzi in the middle, a bathtub big enough for five people in one corner and a shower nearly as big as his current bedroom in the other corner. This was – by far – a dream come true for Percy. Water had always made him feel better. With his stepfather... he spend hours showering afterwards, trying to wash it off, seeking comfort in it. And baths... he used to take long, funny baths with his mom when she had still been alive. A sad smile spread over his lips at the memories penetrating his mind.

“Well, let's take a shower, my boys”, grinned Percy mischievously and undressed.

 

/break\

 

“He's back in Los Angeles.”

“But... why?”, grunted the brunette man with the goaty and frowned exhausted.

Percy had disappeared the day before. They had gone into a frenzy, contacted the Stolls who went to look for Luke and Ethan, suspecting them to be at fault for Percy's disappearance. Travis and Connor had found the other two thieves in Jacksonville, they had teamed up for their chase, thinking that way they could get Percy. But they had failed to kidnap him. That was what the Stolls had found out when they had brought Luke and Ethan to Chris. They had eavesdropped on the task-force members, heard how the cops had conversed about their theory of Percy being Black Siren and Jason Grace and his lover having the boy. Needless to say that Connor and Travis went to check that theory. And made a couple of photos of the acrobatic performance of Percy.

Travis shot his younger brother a look. Connor shrugged with a frown. Both brothers turned back to the laptop. Grover on the screen looked less than pleased, not noticing the two women behind him who exchanged very obvious looks.

“The way I see it”, hummed the younger Stoll. “He's in love. And regardless of how much you'll try to protect him, you can't force him to fall out of love. He'll stay here.”

“And you should come back too if you plan on sticking with him”, continued Travis with a scowl. “You can back down. His infliction with cops will be problematic. You can just stay in Florida and start a new life, forgetting about the Black Siren and Los Angeles...”

“You make it sound like it's an actual option”, snorted Grover a bit irritated. “As if I'd abandon my best friend like that. Rach, pack Ty's and Ella's stuff, June, start packing our things. I'll book the next flight back to Los Angeles for us.”

Connor and Travis exchanged a smirk as the connection broke. Their boy had found a good home, good friends and supposedly also good lovers. It was a big relief for the brothers.

 

/break\

 

Thalia tapped her foot against the floor a bit nervously, her eyes constantly glancing over their little gathering. Her girlfriend next to her was chatting silently with Hazel on her other side. Left to the dark-skinned woman sat her fiance, the cop talking to his two female colleagues, while Chris and Leo between the police women were deep into a discussion of their own. It made the punk singer nervous to know that there was a criminal in her house. A criminal sharing the bed of her baby brother and his boyfriend. She couldn't wait for the logical explanation to this.

“So. Good morning, family”, sighed Jason as the three males entered the kitchen again.

“Good morning, Casanova”, snickered Clarisse and wiggled her eyebrows.

“What do you know? And how?”, growled Jason dangerously, threateningly.

He sat down at the head of the table with Nico, as always. Percy stood behind them, a little awkwardly. Until the blonde wrapped his arms around the boy's waist and pulled him onto his lap. The Italian next to them rested his hand on the teen's thigh.

“What my sensitive and calm lover is trying to say”, sighed the CEO with an apologetic smile. “Is that we'd like to know how many information you have. And why you're so calm.”

“Back after the Black Siren got shot and I came over to check on you because you got suspended”, started Reyna, pushing her hair back behind her ear. “I met Will. And Nico was so secretive. It wasn't hard to piece it together. You had been crushing on that thief for months after all.”

“And when you made me check Percy's background because you were worried about his stalkers, we kind of pieced one and one together”, added Clarisse with a frown.

“The reason we're so calm”, continued Frank, folding his hands in front of his body. “Is that we love you guys because you're family so we want to hear an explanation first before we decide what we'll do. So, Percy, you're a nice guy, but we're cops. You better tell a good story.”

The thief looked from one to the other and grabbed a croissant first and the raspberry-jam. Pulling a plate and a knife closer, he took his time to get breakfast ready. No one moved, all stared at him with confused looks until he finally bit into the croissant for the first time.

“What? I'm starving”, grunted the waiter. “Let me eat before I go into trial. Last meal.”

Clarisse snorted, but did the same. One by one they all started their breakfast. The teen grinned and put his own food beside once all were eating. He didn't like being the center of attention so perhaps it would be easier to tell his story. Taking a deep breath, he looked at his two... at Jason and Nico. The two men were too busy eating to notice his longing glance.

“I've been born in New York”, started Percy softly, gaining all their attention. “My mom had big dreams, she wanted to do something with her life. But then she had been impregnated by a guy who dumped her shortly after.”

He felt Jason beneath him stiffen and Nico's hand on his knee tightening it's grip. They were probably anxious to learn the whole truth too. His stomach twisted.

“Early start, but okay”, grunted Clarisse with a frown. “Continue. Though perhaps... skip to an important part now, okay? We don't have all year.”

“I'm getting to the important part”, chuckled the thief darkly. “She was young and pregnant and alone. There was this guy who had been fancying her. A good guy, she thought. An honest, hard working guy. A police sergeant in New York. She thought it would be easier if she had someone. He started raping me when I was seven.”

“Oh my”, gasped Bianca wide-eyed, her fork falling onto the floor.

“I didn't want to tell my mom because I didn't want to upset her. And I didn't tell anyone else because... who would have believed me? He was a well-respected part of the police station”, continued Percy, ignoring the intense stares of his listeners. “But when I was ten, my mother died. It was a car accident. My little half-brother and I stayed with him. I had to take care of the apartment, of Tyson and... and of my stepfather whenever he came home. He was more irritated ever since my mother had died and had started to hit me.”

“P—Percy...”, stuttered Hazel with a worried frown. “How... How did you survive this...?”

“I had to take care of Ty”, shrugged Percy casually, averting his eyes. “Which was the reason why I ran away. Because one day... when I had been sixteen... I came home from school and found my stepfather hovering above Ty and... I... I knew I couldn't let him get hurt like that... I took the money out of the emergency-jar and packed a few things, then I ran away with Ty. We took a bus, any bus. And ended up in Chicago somehow.”

“Chicago, eh?”, grunted Chris thoughtful. “Must have been where you met Luke and Ethan.”

“Ah. I forgot that you worked with them before too”, hummed Percy with a sheepish grin.

“Well, sometimes. If it had to be done”, grunted Chris with a frown. “Anyway, how did you meet?”

“So, like I said I was sixteen. And kind of low on money”, continued the teenager. “So I started jobbing at a diner. Like I did here too, actually. Anyway, there was that guy. Handsome and charming guy. We kind of hooked up. I mean, I was sixteen, he was hot and I wanted to see if... well, if it can feel good. And it did. So I kind of repeated the experience with him. Often. And then one day one of the customers got a little, well, too touchy-feely with me. I broke his nose and got thrown out of the diner. Luke took me in. Not that I really wanted to move in with him. I mean, I didn't want a relationship. I wasn't... emotionally ready to commit. That's how Rach puts it anyway. But I didn't have much choice. I didn't know anyone in Chicago aside from Luke and it wasn't like I was alone and could just live on the street. I had a seven-years old kid with me. So I agreed. And... it was great, really. Luke enrolled both, me and Ty, at schools. Private schools. I was feeling all spoiled and fancy for the first time in my life...”

Percy had a quite serene and soft smile gracing his lips and both Nico and Jason felt a jolt of jealousy surge through their beings. The possessive blonde rested his chin on the teen's shoulder.

“So he treated you right?”, asked Nico to make sure, frowning a bit.

Percy nodded slowly and he sighed in relief. At least something. He couldn't change that someone else has had their thief, but at least this someone hadn't treated him badly. Percy had been through so much pain already, he deserved as much happiness as possible.

“He did, he was great, really. But well, the problem was his roommate”, muttered the teen, pulling his legs up to wrap his arms around them. “Ethan. He was, well... he didn't like me much at first. He hated that I butted in on their lives. Why exactly, I only learned later. When I learned what exactly they were doing to earn their money. They were thieves. And since I was living at their apartment, eating their food and going to school with their money... I helped them. Mostly as a distraction. You know, cute guy asking the way gives them enough time to steal the keys and check the address on the ID. But the longer I stayed with them, I got more involved... I helped them during the heists. And I met their two acquaintances, whose names I certainly won't tell members of the police-force. At any rate, the five of us pulled bigger and bigger stunts, getting high from the adrenaline of the chase. It was amazing, it got me addicted. I loved it. For the first time in my life, I felt completely free. Because I knew exactly what I was doing and what I had to do. But then everything went downhill. After a specially though heist, we went to celebrate. And while Luke was busy with a drinking contest with the other two, Ethan and I kind of talked. I mean, really talked. After he had disliked me from the start, we finally started to get along. A little too well... We were both drunk and we noticed we have quite a few thing in common and then we ended in bed together... But since the things we had in common outlasted the drunkenness, we ended up together quite often.”

“Okay, so you were double-timing two thieves?”, grunted Clarisse with a frown. “Sure that end well. Especially since we got both of them delivered on a silver plate...”

“It ended horrible”, muttered Percy, stretching himself over both his men's laps to hide his face shamefully in Nico's neck. “You noticed how Ethan only has one eye and Luke got that horrible scar running down the side of his face? Both were the outcome of a horrible fight between the two. A fight about who should get me... Who deserved me better. Those two threw everything out of the window – their partnership, their friendship, nearly even their lives – all just because of me...”

“Don't make it sound so surprising”, grunted Jason. “You're worth it.”

“No, I'm not”, disagreed the teen with a glare. “And I destroyed it all. I didn't know what to do... While they were both at the hospital, I packed mine and Ty's stuff and ran. Again. But T—the two friends, they helped me. They collected me and told me they'd take care of me until I'd find a place to stay. They have safe-houses all around the states. We lived in Seattle for months, tried to settle down. As much as that's possible with two and a half thieves. I tried doing honest work, but in the end... stealing was more fun. Until we robbed those wealthy, arrogant bastards and got caught by their daughter. I had hurt my foot, I couldn't flee. She hid me from her parents and tended to my injury. Then she blackmailed me into going with us. Because she was bored and hated her life. We took her in, obviously. But with her parents looking for her, we had to leave...”

“Rachel”, interrupted Thalia with calculating eyes. “That girl. It's Rachel, right?”

Percy nodded slowly. “We left and moved to San Francisco, where we stayed for a little over a year. It's where I met my best friend and where we found Ella in a library. It's where I parted ways with what then had been my oldest friends. It was just the five of us from then on – Grover, Rach, Ty, Ella and me. I had parted with the other two because I had moral issues. I didn't like the way they randomly chose their targets. My crew and I made our own business.”

“Business?”, snorted Reyna with one raised eyebrow. “How is stealing business?”

Percy smirked at her and leaned in some, winking. “You can check. Every little thing we stole. If you dig deep enough you'll discover the truth. The people we stole them from weren't the real owners. They had stolen it at one point of time or bought it on the black market. But they were too filthily rich to get caught and the mostly poorer original owners couldn't do a thing about it. That's why I returned the Persephone's Tear. Because we found out that the ones who hired us were fake and lying. It sometimes happens. Then we return the things. But normally, we give them back to the ones who hired us, they are happy to have that painting that the Nazis had stolen during the Second World War and which is the last memory of their grandmother back and pay us a little for our efforts. Not much since they mostly don't have much themselves, but we don't do it for the money. We do it for the kick and to help others. I had always wanted to do that. Because after Ty and I had run away from New York, I had left all the things of my mom there. And when we stole them back together, I decided that we'll do this. Help others. Once we settled for that plan, we moved to Los Angeles when we started our business really.”

“So that's it?”, grunted Frank a bit skeptical. “You're the good guys?”

“You don't have to believe me”, shrugged the teen. “You can lock me away. You got enough proof that I'm guilty. Arrest me, I don't care, as long as my family is safe.”

“We'll keep that in mind”, hummed Clarisse, staring intensely at the boy. “But we'll check what you said first. Give me some information to go by though.”

“I'll write you a list”, smirked Percy. “But for now I'd love to go back to bed.”

“Are you tired?”, asked Nico worried. “Jay, I told you we shouldn't have knocked him out!”

“I don't want to sleep, stupid”, grunted the thief and rolled his eyes.

“Then what...? Oh. Oh!”

“Is he always that slow, Jason?”, asked the teen curiously and amused.

“Normally not”, chuckled the blonde amused, throwing a distrusting glare at his friends. “Are we finished with this interrogation or is there something else you want to know?”

“Calm down, Grace”, grunted Clarisse a bit irritated. “We're cops. We can't just say 'My, he's so cute, let's keep him and forget he's a criminal!'.”

“Well, you can't. I can”, declared Nico with a frown, wrapping his arms around Percy's waist in determination. “And I will be taking him with me now. So you lot better get those facts checked.”

“Will do, boss”, snorted Clarisse and rolled her eyes.

“Oh, and you can call the boys and tell them that we'll soon need their help for moving.”

“We're moving?”, asked Bianca and blinked confused.

“No”, snorted Jason. “But Percy and the kids will be moving in with us.”

“I never said that!”, objected Percy as he was thrown over Nico's shoulder.

“But we did”, declared both his lover with identical smirks, Nico slapping Percy's ass once.

“You're staying with us now, Perce”, murmured Jason, kissing him softly. “Because you're ours.”


	11. Playing Family

_10\. Chapter: Playing Family_

 

“He said the truth”, muttered Clarisse dumbfounded.

“What?”, asked Reyna from her desk.

She turned around some to look at the brunette with a frown. Her friend just gave her a look. The black-haired woman hurried to get up and see so for herself, throwing a curious glance over Clarisse's shoulder. Pointing at the screen in exhaustion, Clarisse sighed.

“I only checked about a dozen of the stuff and I really had to dig deep, but he said the truth. They had all come into the possession of the people the Siren stole them from under very very suspicious circumstances”, commented the brunette with a frown. “What are we supposed to do now?”

“Forgetting that we know anything...?”, suggested Reyna slowly. “I mean... Back when you got together with Chris we kind of overlooked the fact that he was a thief too until he was ready to become our informer. And since Percy doesn't do anything wrong, I mean stealing something that had actually been stolen can't really be stolen if it's just returned to it's original owner, right?”

“I'm getting a headache”, moaned Clarisse and threw her head back. “Let's forget about that crap. The guys are busy bringing all the furniture and Silly said she'd cook at the Grace-di-Angelo-place, so how about we call it a day too and go get some nice food?”

“Sounds like a wonderful plan”, agreed Reyna and yawned.

 

/break\

 

“And then just a little bit of cinnamon – I know it doesn't sound as if it'll fit for this, but it fits this just perfectly!”, exclaimed the tall blonde woman with a smile.

She stood in front of the hearth, two very attentive listeners next to her. Juniper was even taking notes, while Percy was just looking curiously, watching how Silena roamed the big kitchen.

“Percy? Can I have a word with you?”, grunted a grumpy voice from the doorway.

The three turned to look at Grover, Percy nodded slowly. “Are you guys finished already?”

“No”, grunted Grover, crossing his arms over his chest. “Your new friends are still busy.”

Percy gulped at that. He hadn't talked to Grover ever since his family had arrived in Los Angeles two days ago. They had crashed in a safe-house from Connor and Travis, because Grover claimed he didn't trust the cop and the Italian. Though Percy made it pretty clear that he would stay with Jason and Nico permanently. The three had started looking for furniture with Tyson and Ella.

“Okay, Percy. Let's talk”, grunted the brunette as they walked towards the pond.

Sea-green eyes trailed over to the main-entrance of the villa. The truck was still standing there, Charles and Frank currently lifting a pink table out of it.

“What do you want to talk about?”, whispered the teen and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Why are we here?”, asked Grover, staring intensely at his best friend. “Are you sure about this? Or is it just going to be Luke all over again? Don't look at me so surprised. Just because you never talk about it doesn't mean I don't know. Travis and Connor asked me to keep an eye on you back then. To watch out for men, because they'll eventually ruin your life. So tell me.”

“I... I'm in love”, murmured Percy and bit his lips, averting his eyes. “I liked Luke very much, yes, but I never loved him. Neither did I love Ethan. I had been young and didn't know what to make of... well, anything. There's something I never told you before. I never told anyone before. Not even Luke or Ethan. Why I ran away. I ran because my stepfather used to abuse me. And I never felt comfortable being myself. I've spend the last three years being afraid. Afraid to be rejected. But... Jason and Nico accept me, they... love me and I am so happy, I just want to spend the whole day cuddled up to them, talking with them... I've never felt so at ease. It's what I've been looking for, why I started stealing really. Because while I was busy concentrating on heists, I didn't have to think or remember or feel. But... I get that with Jason and Nico too. Not that I don't feel. No, in fact I feel so incredibly much when I'm with them. I feel so... complete and safe and protected and content, I am more happy than I had ever been in my life. I love them, can't you understand that? You loved Juniper and got married to her even though we barely knew her. Can't you understand?”

Grover sighed softly and rubbed his eyes. “I understand that. I just... please understand that I love you, you're my best friend. I want you to be happy and I don't want you to get hurt. I don't... have to say something about the... other thing, do I? I know you good enough to know that you hate pity. I don't have to say anything for you to know that whatever lays in your past or your future, you will always have me at your side and I will always support you, okay?”

Percy grinned at him and leaned his head against Grover's shoulder. They stayed like that for a little while until the teen's two lovers came hastily run up to them. Percy locked eyes with Grover.

“Go”, sighed the brunette. “Go to your loverboys.”

“Thanks, man”, grinned Percy and leaned up to kiss Grover's cheek.

“Don't do that”, hissed the brunette and blushed. “Or your boyfriends will tear me apart.”

The teen laughed and ran off towards the two men he loved. Once he reached them, he interlaced his fingers with their hands, one of them on each side of him. Then he leaned up to peck their lips.

“Is my help required or why were you running like that?”, grinned the thief.

“Something like that”, chuckled Nico amused. “Leo, Charles, Jake and Nyssa take care of the furniture, installing the beds. Silena, Juniper, Hazel, Calypso and Bianca are cooking. Frank, Chris, Thalia, Phoebe, Reyna, Clarisse and Zoe are playing soccer with Tyson. And Will, Piper and Annabeth are showing Rachel and Ella the library-”

“Hold on, you have a library?”, interrupted Percy wide-eyed.

“We also have an indoor-pool”, smirked Jason. “And that's what we wanted to show you now.”

“Eh?”, blinked the teen confused.

His two lovers pulled him along to a back-entrance of the villa. Both were aiming mischievous grins at him and something told Percy that he would not get out of this without being very sore. Though then again he didn't really mind.

“Your house is really amazing”, murmured Percy while they led him through the halls.

“Our house”, corrected Nico automatically. “And one day we'll manage to show every single corner of it to you. But not now. Now we'd rather want to see every corner of _you_.”

The teen blushed furiously. “You two are horrible.”

“All your fault”, shrugged the blonde next to him with a smirk. “Now come and get naked.”

He pushed a door open to show Percy the most beautiful room he had ever seen. A pool, bigger than his apartment in Los Angeles had been, was seated in the middle, with beautiful palms lining the way to it, the light catching in the water and reflecting on the walls and the ceiling. Percy felt at home and knew he simply had to dive in. Breaking into a sprint as if the cops were behind him, he shed his clothes, throwing them everywhere, before diving head-first into the soothing, cold water.

“He really is a siren”, commented Jason amused and started to undress himself. “Come.”

“Let me lock the door first, will you?”, grunted Nico and rolled his eyes. “Horny bastard. We have children in the house now. So we need to watch where and when we're doing it.”

“Damn”, muttered the blonde with a crestfallen look.

“Like I said: Horny bastard”, snorted the Italian.

Once the door was locked and their clothes joined Percy's on the floor, they made their way over to the pool. The naked teen was swimming in circles, diving most of the time. Nico and Jason came to stand at the edge to marvel at the beautiful, lean figure and the graceful movement. It was breathtaking. And it was also making them quite horny.

“Are you two going to stare at me and drool or will you join me?”, asked Percy with a grin as he broke through the surface at their feet, tilting his head at them curiously.

“How could we say no to that?”, smirked the blonde and pushed his long-time-boyfriend.

“Jerk!”, yelped Nico as he crashed into the cold water.

When he broke the surface again, he had his arms wrapped around Percy's waist, the naked teen pressed closely against his own body. The thief was flustered, but he grinned broadly.

“Well, you going to join us too or am Nico and I supposed to have all the fun on our own?”

Percy licked his lips seductively, wrapping his arms around Nico's neck. Jason snorted and jumped into the cold wet, diving to circle his two lovers. Once up again he squeezed both their asses.

“My boys”, grinned the blonde mischievously. “How about something... dirty?”

“Wasn't it enough that we practically did it all night?”, snorted Percy amused.

“He is never satisfied”, grunted Nico, his hands sliding down to part Percy's cheeks. “So glad your ass will suffer now too. Though then again, I do feel slightly bad for your ass...”

“I don't”, grinned the green-eyed boy. “I like the very eager way you two pay attention to it...”

“Well, then let us pay some attention to it”, smirked Jason from behind him and bit his neck.

His fingers found the butt-plug seated within the tight ass in front of him, pulling it out with one harsh move. The teen between them yelped in surprise, clawing his fingers into Nico's shoulders.

“Ouch”, muttered the Italian with a wince. “Wildcat...”

“We should probably hurry”, murmured the blonde, leaning over Percy's shoulder to kiss Nico.

“Yeah”, agreed the CEO against Jason's lips. “We'll get more time to play once the children are in bed and our friends are out of the house. Right, Perce?”

“You have no idea how long it takes for Ella and Ty to fall asleep”, chuckled the thief, rubbing himself against his two lovers. “But let's see how you'll handle it.”

“I always wanted to be a dad”, grinned Jason, his arms around Percy's waist.

“Let's see how good of a dad you'll prove to be”, snickered Nico. “You're not very consequent with that bunch of brats we call our friends. You and real kids? I really want to see that.”

“I'm sure you'll be great. Both of you”, smiled Percy softly. “And now stop with the worrying and start with the fucking before dinner will be ready, yes?”

The two men laughed at that. The teen wrapped his legs around Nico's waist, rubbing his ass against the hard member of Jason behind him. The silent command was enough, Jason slowly pushing into the welcoming heat of his youngest lover. A blissful moan escaped Percy's lips.

“I love you two so much”, gasped the thief when he felt Nico's cock also pocking his entrance.

“You know, I never tire of hearing you say that, amore”, smiled the CEO, kissing Percy softly.

“We love you two, little siren”, grinned Jason stupidly. “You have no idea how much.”

The Italian slowly pushed into the tightness of their thief, both their cocks stretching the teen in a way Percy had truly learned to love in the past two days. They had done it in every room they had managed to show Percy. Which probably was the reason why Percy still hadn't seen every corner of the villa. But that wasn't all that important to the teen anyway. The knowledge that he was with the two men he loved and that he would have much, much more time to explore the villa.

“Fuck, you're so tight and hot, Perce”, growled the cop.

“I really love sharing you with Jay”, smirked Nico, kissing the teen in a bruising manner.

The thief groaned into the kiss, bucking his hips to urge them on.

“You're two horny idiots”, grinned Percy amused. “But you're my horny idiots.”

“We completely belong to you, love”, smiled the blonde, biting the teen's neck. “You stole us.”

“Best thief in the world”, chimed the Black Siren with a broad smile.

“No one disagrees”, chuckled the Italian.

They easily slid in and out of the tight channels, already completely in sync with each other's movements. Sharing a lover – their beautiful thief nonetheless – was the best thing they had ever experienced. Percy leaned back against Jason's broad, muscular chest, the blonde holding the teen's waist tightly, one hand fisting the boy's member. A very eager Italian was sucking and biting Percy's nipples, kissing along the teen's collar-bone, leaving as many hickeys as possible.

“Ow”, whimpered the thief needfully while clawing at Nico's back. “Harder, please!”

“As you wish, my little thief”, chuckled the cop, thrusting harder. “We have to hurry anyway. So how about you come for us, wanton little thief?”

Percy moaned in reply, relishing in the feeling of Jason's cunning fingers teasing his cock. With a muffled groan, muffled by Nico's lips, he came hard. Gasping for air, he rode his orgasm completely out on the two hard thicknesses within him. He clenched down tightly, trying to force his lovers into mind-numbing orgasms. Jason bit down on his neck from the left while Nico kept himself busy with Percy's right shoulder, both quite eager to leave their marks all over their thief's body.

“Telling me to hurry but taking your time like that yourself?”, snickered the teen, fisting his hands into the black curls of his Italian. “How about you come too now and fill my hungry ass with your hot cum, lover boys? Fill me and then kiss me.”

Jason growled in the back of his throat at that, biting hard, just as hard as he came at that moment. Nico grunted as he felt the cock next to his ejaculate within the tight channels, following. A more than stupid and satisfied grin spread over Percy's lips while he stretched comfortably between them.

“You know that this it not what a pool should be used for”, chuckled the teen amused. “Uh... the water? And we should probably get dressed too. But... the water?”

“Don't worry about the water”, chuckled Nico. “It'll be cleaned and exchanged tomorrow morning anyway. But you're right. Wouldn't want to be late for family dinner.”

Jason reached out for the plug drifting next to them so he could stuff the needy ass again after they pulled out. A cute yelp came from the teen as the two cocks were replaced by the toy.

“Wouldn't want you to stay empty, love”, snickered Jason, placing a tender kiss on Percy's cheek.

Percy smiled softly, watching how his two older lovers slowly got dressed. It was good, being with them. It made him feel complete and safe and so, so good. And if they were truly willing to raise Ty and Ella with him, if he truly meant so much to them, enough to be a family, then... Then his life was barely perfect. Pulling his jeans up, he turned to glare at them for a second.

“I won't stop.”

“Mh?”, asked the CEO confused.

“Just because your police force decided that my cause is good and that they'll ignore that I'm the Black Siren doesn't mean I'll stop”, murmured the thief with a warning glare.

“I've already feared you'd say something like that”, sighed Jason and shook his head.

“That's why we decided to not ask you to stop”, smiled the CEO softly.

“Really?”, asked Percy doe-eyed and blinked.

The Italian took his hand, intertwining their fingers, pulling him close to place a soft kiss on his lips. Percy blushed, taking Jason's hand into his free hand, making his way to the door.

“I fell in love with a _thief_ , forcing you to stop stealing would mean to make you stop being yourself. It's a very important part of your personality. It would be wrong to ask that of you”, murmured the blonde, caressing Percy's hand with his thumb. “We love you, the complete, thieving you. Even if it means that I'll have to pretend to be hunting you, it doesn't matter. I want you to be you.”

“I think I keep falling more in love with you with every day I know you”, smiled Percy brightly and leaned up, first kissing Jason's cheek and then Nico's. “You're the most amazing men I've ever met.”

“And”, continued the Italian with a broad smirk. “We got another surprise for you.”

“Another surprise?”, chuckled the teen surprised. “What is it?”

The two men stayed silent while they walked through the corridors toward the dining hall. The table was probably the longest Percy had ever seen – nothing new there. Everything concerning Jason and Nico seemed so much bigger and so much more than anything Percy had known so far.

At the farthest end of the table sat Rachel, with Ella and Tyson on each side of her. The others were seated, the couples facing each other, along the table. Next to Ella and Tyson sat Juniper and Grover, followed by Annabeth and Piper, Phoebe and Zoe, Calypso and Nyssa, Jake and Will, Charles and Silena, Chris and Clarisse, Leo and Reyna, Hazel and Frank and Bianca and Thalia. The three seats on the other end of the table were still vacant. Percy was amazed by how big his lovers' family truly was. Not just their sisters, no, their task-force and their sisters' band and the machine shop owners. It was truly amazing how close they all were. It was something Percy had always longed for. A big family. It was why he had been collecting a little family of his own.

Nico took a seat next to his bigger sister while Jason took the seat next to his own sister, leaving the chair between them empty. Percy smiled shyly and sat down between them.

“Family, old and new alike”, started Nico, lifting his glass, his eyes wandering through the rows of people looking at him curiously. “I thank you all for helping us today, making everything child-proof, cleaning and furnishing the children's rooms. But more than anything, I thank you for being there. For accepting each other. For accepting Percy and his family into our family. And I thank you for accepting us into your family. And, special thanks to our great cooks! Now enjoy the meal.”

Everyone cheered and dug into their soup. Soon the volume rose as all friends fell into animated conversation about one thing or another. Percy smiled, watching the friendly banter between Thalia and Jason with one eye and listening to something Hazel told with one ear.

Once they were through with the soup and some of them volunteered to bring the dishes out and get the next course, Percy leaned closer to Nico, tugging on his shirt until he got the Italian's attention.

“What surprise have you been talking about earlier?”, whispered the teen curiously.

“Oh, right. Valdez?”, grinned the Italian, locking eyes with Leo.

The Latino next to Hazel blinked up from his steak to look at them confused. Though then the curator next to him elbowed him harshly, rolling her golden eyes at him. He nodded in understanding, hastily gulping down his steak to answer.

“That's right”, nodded Leo, coughing slightly since he nearly choked on his food. “So yeah, Nico said that little Ty had said that you once worked in a car shop, that true?”

“Yes?”, replied Percy, unsure where this conversation was going. “I've been always pretty good with my hands and Ethan had taught me a thing or two about cars, so when I moved on I worked in a cute car shop once. Why are you asking?”

“Well... Beckendorf, Nyssa, Jake and I talked about it and we sure could use another set of hands. The shop is always pretty busy, most of the times with the cars in di Angelo's garage”, snickered the Latino with a shrug. “So, how about it? Want to work with us?”

“What?”, asked the green-eyed boy stunned. “Why? How? What?”

“Jason and I had been talking about this while we searched for you”, hummed Nico, resting one hand on one of Percy's knees. “We talked about our first date and how you said you're uncomfortable with others paying for you. So we thought you'd certainly not just turn all housewife and wait patiently here while Jay and I are off to work.”

“But we also can't possibly let you work at that diner with this horrible person again”, grunted Jason with a slightly dark glare. “So we thought about, well, possibilities. I'm sorry if we're being too demanding or controlling or anything, but we want to keep you in safe vicinity-”

He got interrupted by soft lips pressing against his. “You're cute! Incredibly cute. You know, I loved that job. Out of all the jobs I've done so far, I think I enjoyed the tinkering most. It was fun. And you're right, you're so right. I won't be sitting around like a housewife. Thank you.”

“Impossibly cute”, smiled the Italian, ruffling Percy's hair.

“Goodness, if I have to listen to them being so freakishly lovey-dovey all the time, I'm going to permanently throw up”, grunted Clarisse and rolled her eyes. “Seriously, wasn't the first time around bad enough? When Jason first met Nico. Do we have to go through that again? They had just been out of this annoying phase, really.”

“So awfully sorry to disappoint you, Clarisse”, snorted Jason, grabbing the back of Percy's neck to pull him close and into a bruising kiss.

“Ieks!”, yelped Ella at the other end of the table, blushing and giggling. “Pops is kissing mommy!”

“How in the world did you manage that she calls you pops?”, hissed Percy after the kiss.

“Taught her a new word”, shrugged the blonde amused.

“Uncle Thalia, uncle Thalia, can you teach Ella how to guitar?”, asked the child, ignoring the adults.

“Of course I can teach you how to play guitar”, smiled Thalia, winking at the kid.

“This girl, the attention span of a fly”, muttered Percy and shook his head.

“I think she's adorable”, grinned Nico next to him. “Just like her _mommy_.”

“Oh, shut up”, grunted the teen with a glare and blushed. “Not my fault she doesn't get that.”

“So, Percy”, interrupted Charles loudly. “How is it now? When can we expect you at work?”

“Mh... Well, I would be very interested in this”, hummed Percy with a grin. “But give me a week or two first. I want to enjoy just being here and being with Nico and Jason first for a bit.”

“Understandable”, grinned Leo and wiggled his eyebrows. “Here are so many rooms to enjoy.”

“What would you know about it?”, snorted Jason, though his expression slipped as he watched his partner and the Latino blush a furious red. “Oh for the love of...”

“What are you going to do now anyway? I mean... Now that Simmons is kicked off the task force for wasting a huge load of money for a blind goose-chase throughout the whole country”, started Hazel slightly nervous. “Jason will most likely be back on the task force again and... Well...”

“Just to have it said, I don't like this at all”, threw Grover in, chewing a carrot.

“Oh, shut it”, chided his wife opposite of him with a disapproving glare.

“If you would just stop turning every heist into such a big show”, muttered Frank.

“We'll lay low”, smiled Percy enigmatically. “For long enough. You'll get another assignment, the Black Siren may turn into a tale. Perhaps they broke up, like Nakamura and Castellan did. Or something happened. Who knows? And, really, who's interested in it?”

“What is he talking about?”, whispered Nyssa confused into Will's ear.

The doctor next to her shrugged. “Perhaps he hit his head during the whole knocking-him-out-and-dragging-him-from-one-end-of-the-states-to-the-other?”

“He's not loosing it, don't worry”, chuckled Rachel amused. “Trust him. We won't cross ways in the fields of work again. Besides, with having an own helicopter to use-”

“It's not ours, Rach. I told you so”, interrupted Percy a little irritated.

“Oh, but it is”, interjected the Italian with one raised eyebrow. “Didn't I already tell you at least ten times, Perseus? You're ours now and everything that is ours is yours too.”

“Oh. So you want us to use your helicopter for a heist?”, snorted Grover.

“As long as I don't know about anything”, hummed the CEO and smirked slightly.

“Those people are crazy”, muttered Grover and shook his head. “They're a perfect fit for our loon.”

“Don't call me a loon”, protested Percy and stuck his tongue out, his arms stubbornly crossed over his chest. “I'm not a loon. My mother had me tested!”

“Your mother had you tested?”, snorted Piper amused, her hand reached out for Annabeth's.

“Oh? Yeah. When I was small. My stepfather claimed I was a little psychopath, trying to get me out of his way”, shrugged Percy indifferent. “Perfectly sane though. Well, most of the time at least.”

Silena heaved a sigh, her eyebrows knitted in worry. Even Phoebe and Zoe frowned, their eyes locked. The atmosphere turned gravely silent for a moment, as it always did when Gabe turned up.

“Well, lovely conversation topic again”, muttered Chris. “How are Trav and Con anyway?”

“Oh? They're fine. Told us to greet you”, smiled Juniper, taking the bait.

“Who wants desserts?”, smiled Calypso and stood.

“Me! Me! Me!”, exclaimed Tyson eagerly, both his hands raised high.

Bianca chuckled fondly, following Calypso to get desserts while the mood slowly lightened.


	12. Epilogue: Winning the Game

_Epilogue: Winning the Game_

 

“...And then the beautiful princess fell in love with the dark king, but her parents wanted her to return home to their castle on the big mountain. So when the father wanted to take his daughter back, the dark king found a loop-hole and fed the beautiful princess three magical seeds that made it possible for her to defeat her parents' almighty orders so she could stay with him.”

“And they lived happily ever after, papa?”, asked the little red-haired girl wide-eyed.

The Italian man laying in the center of the bed smiled and ruffled her hair. She was closely cuddled next to him, sucking her thumb while eagerly listening. Tyson was laying on Nico's other side.

“Of course they did, my sweetheart”, chuckled a voice from the doorway.

“Pops! You're home!”, cheered the brunette boy. “Papa is telling us a story! Come, come!”

Jason shed his jacket and pulled his tie off before collapsing completely exhausted next to Tyson, ruffling the boy's hazelnut-colored hair. He leaned down to kiss his forehead, taking a look into the tattered book his boyfriend was reading from.

“As your papa said”, continued Nico, turning his head to kiss Jason briefly. “They lived happily ever after in the big palace. And now it's time to sleep for you two.”

“No. Not until big brother returns”, disagreed Tyson stubbornly and yawned widely.

“He will return very late today, Ty”, sighed the CEO tired. “And he told you so this morning when he drove you to school. And you need your sleep now.”

Jason and Nico stayed silent for a couple of minutes, exchanging smirks while the children's yawns grew wider and wider until they were both deep asleep. The blonde had yawned too.

“He wouldn't always return that late if you wouldn't have bought that stupid old car for him”, muttered the cop with a pout, shifting himself and Ty so he could rest his head on Nico's shoulder.

“What was I supposed to do?”, grunted the Italian with a slight glare. “He was all wide, sea-green kitten-eyes begging for a treat when he saw it. How could I ever say no to that?”

“Okay, okay”, sighed Jason, knowing those kitten-eyes very well. “Still, it's annoying. How am I supposed to lead a very important task force while listening to my partner's complains about how her husband spends all night at the garage helping my boyfriend. Who I miss too.”

“Oh please, that's nothing”, snorted Nico and rolled his eyes. “I have to listen to third-hand complains! My assistant Lou keeps complaining about how her girlfriend Miranda is complaining to her during their 'alone time' that Grover is being all grumpy at work at the 'Demeter's Garden' about his wife's complains of Will being all whiny at the hospital, as if being a nurse there wouldn't keep her busy enough. No, it's even worse than third-hand... It's just down-right ridiculous.”

“That's our family for you”, chuckled Jason amused, kissing Nico again. “But I'm really feeling bad for Juniper. Being a nurse at the hospital is hard enough as it is, but with this loon running around and shooting people, the guys at the Apollo's Heart are taking double shifts after double shifts.”

“Yeah. How is the search going?”, asked Nico with a worried frown.

“Oh, thanks to an anonymous tip signed with xoxo, we're pretty close”, chuckled Jason.

“I don't like Percy taking care of psychopathic killers”, growled the Italian.

“He doesn't do anything actively”, reminded the blonde, caressing Nico's hair. “I think he's just using some connections, those brothers he refuses to introduce to us... And then he's telling us. He's just helping us and not endangering himself. You know he wouldn't do that.”

“No, certainly not”, snorted a voice from the door-way. “I hadn't been able to sit for a week the last time I did something you deemed reckless. Not going to do that again.”

“You're back”, noted Nico with a smile. “Finally. We've been waiting for you.”

Percy yawned and stretched some, showing off his well-defined body. He was dressed in skinny jeans and a tight muscle-shirt, glistering with sweat and oil in the dim light of their night lights. Jason and Nico licked their lips in pure want, staring at him wide-eyed like two predators. The teen smiled apologetically and collapsed behind Ella, kissing the back of her head and shifting so he could bury his head in the Italian's neck, also kissing that and nibbling Nico's pulse.

“I'm sorry you two”, murmured the teen and yawned. “For being away at the garage so often, for leaving you alone with the kids last weekend for a... eh, vacation with Grover and Rach. And I'm also very sorry for coming home so late, looking as hot as I do and then having the kids in our bed.”

“Okay, first, I was the one who put the kids into our bed”, chuckled the CEO. “And I for my part really love with how much enthusiasm you work on that car.”

“And that vacation is not to be mentioned”, grunted Jason, pretending not to know. “But the weekend with the kids was great, we visited Nico's parents. We all had fun.”

“Oh, yeah”, grinned Percy broadly. “Rach told me that Hazel said to her just how much your stepmother adores Ella and Tyson. I can't wait to meet her, by the way. I mean, it had been six weeks now that we're together. I want to finally meet your parents... if it's alright with you...”

“Uh... Well...”, drawled Jason, leaning slowly over Nico to kiss Percy. “We kind of made plans for Nico's parents to come over next weekend. You think you'll find the time?”

“What?!”, yelped Percy wide-eyed and as silent as possible to not wake the children. “Next week? I have to clean and get everything ready and arrange food! Oh goodness, I have to ask Silena for help with that! It needs to be really good! And I should go shopping, I can't wear-”

“Calm down, love”, chuckled Nico, running his fingers through the soft, black hair. “My parents don't bite. And all of that still has time. How about you tell us about your lunch with Rachel?”

Percy blinked a few times and tried to calm himself, cuddling closer to his family. “Lunch was fine. She was being a bit cranky, but that's normal. It's Monday, she hates Mondays. Especially after a hei—vacation for the weekend. But other than that, she was pretty enthusiastic. Third week working at the museum and she still enjoys it. Probably the first time I saw her like that.”

“I still think it's weird to let an art thief work at a museum”, muttered Jason amused.

“You meant to say an art student with a Bachelor of Arts”, corrected Percy and grinned.

A loud whining interrupted their conversation. “Come here, Mrs. O'Leary, or you'll wake the kids.”

Jason beckoned the big, black dog onto their over-sized bed so she could curl together at the foot end of it. The blonde chuckled amused. It was what he had always wanted. The dream job, the big house, the love of his life, the wonderful children and the obedient dog.

He was back as leader of their task-force, though not responsible for the Black Siren anymore since that thief seemed to have vanished from the surface of the world. Jason suspected that they just kept it in the dark now, threatening the people they stole from with going public about the already stolen items thus leading to no one notifying the authorities. At any rate, he was grateful to not be forced to capture his lover. His lover, who now was very happy working at Hephaestus' Engines, though also getting them all addicted to repairing the car Nico had gotten him for his twentieth birthday.

As for their friends? Well, Juniper had gotten back into her original job as a nurse with a little help and guidance from Will at the Apollo's Heart Hospital.

Grover had gotten back to the Demeter's Garden, providing the di-Angelo-Grace-Jacksons with gorgeous flowers every week and had helped re-designing their garden.

And Rachel was Hazel's personal assistant at the Muse Museum, her knowledge of art and especially so the security measurements being pretty handy for the curator.

Luke and Ethan were behind bars for good. Jason was pretty sure they would try to escape at one point, but for now they were far away from their Percy. The blonde smiled, grasping Percy's hand.

“Are you alright, Percy?”, whispered the cop, the question meaning so much more.

“I love you”, murmured Percy in reply, slowly closing his eyes. “How did tonight's fairy tale end?”

“And they lived happily ever after”, chuckled the Italian, kissing his head. “Sleep well, my loves.”

 

_~*~ The End ~*~_


End file.
